THE 

REASONABLENESS 

OF    SETTING    FOHTH 

THE  MOST  WORTHY  PRAISE 

OF 


ALMIGHTY  GOD 

ACCORDING  TO  THE  USAGE  OF  THE 

PRIMITIVE  CHURCH; 


WITH 

HISTORICAL  VIEWS 

OF    THE 

NATURE,  ORIGIN,  AND  PROGRESS 

OF 

METRE  PSALMODY. 


1  speak  as  unto  wise  men ;  judge  ye  what  I  say. 

1  Cor.  x.  15. 


BY  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  SMITH,  D.D. 

Late  Principal  of  the  Episcopal  Academy  of  Connecticut. 


NEW-YORK: 

PRINTED  AND  SOLD  BY  T.  AND  I,  SWORDS; 

No.  160  Pearl-Street. 


1814, 


TO 

THE  RIGHT  REVEREND  THE  BISHOPS, 

AND 

THE  REVEREND  THE  CLERGY, 

OF  THE 

PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

IN   THE 

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

THIS  WOEK 

IS  MOST  RESPECTFULLY  INSCRIBED 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR, 


-  » 

PREFACE 


F 


ROM  numerous  and  credible  testimonies 
it  appears  that  the  usage  of  chanting  the  psalms 
and  hymns  of  public  worship  obtained  in  the 
times  of  the  apostles,  and  continued  to  be 
common  to  all  Christian  nations,  until  about 
two  hundred  and  sixty  years  since,  when  it 
was,  in  several  parts  of  Europe,  more  or  less 
interrupted  by  the  struggles  of  the  reformation. 
It  does  not  appear  from  any  of  the  histories  or 
tracts  relative  to  "the  Church  of  England,  that 
there  was  any  difference  between  the  psalmo- 
dic  usage  of  the  Cathedral,  Collegiate,  and 
Parochial  Churches,  until  the  year  1549,  when 
some  of  the  parish-churches  began  to  discon- 
tinue the  practice  of  chanting  the  psalms  and 
hymns,  and  others  to  reject  the  use  of  music 
altogether  in  public  worship.  But  notwith- 
standing a  temporary  interruption,  occasioned 
by  adversaries  to  primitive  truth  and  order, 
prosaic  psalmody  was  re-established  after  the 
lapse  of  a  few  years,  and  continues  to  be  esti- 
mated as  one  of  our  mother-church's  brightest 
ornaments. 
In. every  Liturgy,  ancient  and  modern,  we 
a  2 


vi  PREFACE. 

find  prosaic  psalmody  a  constituent  part  of  di- 
vine service ;  but  those  subjects  are  denuded 
of  the  greater  part  of  their  intended  effect, 
when  they  are  pronounced  with  a  merely  ver- 
bal articulation.  That  they  may  have  their 
full  operation  upon  the  human  mind,  and  also 
become  suitable  oblations  of  homage  to  the 
alone  Hearer  of  prayer  and  praise,  they  require 
a  display  of  all  the  energies  of  ear  and  voice, 
with  accompaniments  of  the  chastest  and  most 
appropriate  harmonies,  which  the  science  of 
music  can  afford. 

Without  chanting,  our  services  are  destitute 
of  vocal  psalmody ;  for  the  appointed  psalms 
and  hymns  of  public  worship,  when  read, 
become  verbal  scriptures  addressed  to  the  hu- 
man understanding,  rather  than  vocal  praises 
offered  up  to  Almighty  God.  If  this  were  not 
the  case,  what  reason  can  be  assigned,  why 
the  psalmody  of  the  Jewish  Church  was  or- 
dained "  by  a  perpetual  ordinance,"  to  be 
celebrated  by  a  choir,  the  grandest  and  the 
most  numerous  that  ever  was  upon  earth; — 
and  why  all  cathedral  establishments,  through- 
out the  Christian  world,  ever  have  embraced, 
and  still  hold  fast  this  primitive  usage  "  of 
setting  forth  God's  most  worthy  praise  ?" 

Attentive  to  the  interchangeable  relation  sub- 
sisting between  prayer  and  praise,  the  church, 
in  every  age  and  country,  has  appointed  cer- 


PREFACE.  vii 

tain  prosaic  psalms  and  hymns  to  be  sung,  (or, 
in  cases  of  necessity,  to  be  said  J,  as  component 
parts  of  its  offices ;  and  this  arrangement  it 
hath  made  for  the  express  purpose  of  enliven- 
ing devotion,  by  preventing  that  lassitude 
which  is  apt  to  obtrude  itself  upon  our  frail 
natures,  when  long  engaged  in  religious  acts 
of  merely  verbal  articulation.  Without  the 
stimulating  aids  which  music  affords,  it  is  ab- 
solutely impossible  to  keep  up  the  spirit  of 
devotion  for  any  length  of  time,  or  to  retain 
the  mind  in  such  a  state  of  engagedness  and 
activity,  as  the  nature  of  social  worship  re- 
quires. 

To  this  important  truth  all  Christian  societies 
bear  ample  testimony.  Among  those  who 
have  no  fixed  form  of  worship,  even  the  ever- 
varying  novelty  of  their  prayers  is  found  to  be 
insufficient  for  keeping  up  a  spirit  of  devotion, 
without  the  powerful  auxiliary  of  music. 
How  much  more  then  is  music  necessary,  to 
keep  alive  the  same  spirit,  during  the  rotine  of 
our  long  and  complicated  offices;  which,  in 
consequence  of  their  fixedness  and  almost 
perpetual  identity,  have  nothing  that  can  be 
called  novel  to  recommend  them  ?* 


*  Even  this  sameness  is  an  excellency.  "  God  is  the  same,  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  for  ever,  without  any  variableness  or  shadow  of  turn- 
ing ;" — and  therefore,  meet  and  right  it  is,  that  cur  *'  reasonable 
service"  to  him,  should  be  like  bim,  the  same  from  generation  $e 
generation. 


vni  PREFACE. 

To  counteract,  or  rather  to  direct  our  un- 
settled hearts,  which  are  too  apt  to  desire  un- 
limited changes  and  varieties  in  religious  du- 
ties; such  changes  and  varieties  have,  from 
the  beginning,  been  established  by  our  eccle- 
siastical ancestors,  as  are  well  calculated  to  en- 
gage the  affections,  enlighten  the  understand- 
ing, and  exhilerate  the  soul,  during  the  times 
of  its  more  immediate  preparation  for  entering 
upon  "  the  glory  to  be  revealed."  And  there- 
fore certain  parts  of  the  service  are  to  be  ut- 
tered with  a  meek  and  humble  voice,  others 
with  the  voice  of  firm  faith  and  stedfast  con- 
fidence, and  others  with  the  elevated  voice  of 
triumphant  joy  and  gladness. 

To  obviate  the  complaint  that  our  "  morn- 
ing service  is  too  long;"  dispensing  rubrics 
have  allowed  it  to  be  abridged  in  various  pla- 
ces; but  this  complaint  might  be  removed  with 
more  effect,  and  to  infinitely  better  purpose, 
by  giving  a  musical  accompaniment  to  all  those 
parts  of  the  service,  which,  by  their  construc- 
tion and  subject,  evidently  require  it.  Such 
an  intermixture  of  verbal  pronunciation  with 
vocal  intonation  would  naturally  prevent  that 
lassitude,  which  is  apt  to  intrude  itself  upon 
us  during  the  time  of  merely  reading  the  ser- 
vice. Not  only  would  music  remove  the  te- 
dium superinduced  by  reading,  but  it  would 
give  a  renewed  zest  for  the  succeeding  part  of 


PREFACE.  ix 

the  service,  and  stimulate  the  soul,  so  as  to 
keep  it  all  the  while  "  alive  unto  God." 

If  any  apology  for  this  publication  be  neces- 
sary, let  it  be  the  consideration,  that,  in  every 
age  and  country,  the  clergy  have  been  con- 
sidered the  legitimate  guardians  of  "  the  most 
worthy  praise  of  Almighty  God,"  and  that  al- 
most all  the  essays  on  sacred  music  are  the 
productions  of  their  learning  and  zeal.  But 
however  numerous,  and  erudite  many  of 
these  productions  are,  not  one  of  them,  so 
far  as  I  can  learn,  has  professedly  been  written 
with  the  ends  in  view  proposed  in  this  work, 
which  is  therefore  the  more  necessary,  as  it 
may  serve  to  -fill  up  a  chasm  in  the  order  of 
clerical  literature. 

My  professed  aim  is  to  revive  the  use  of  the 
proper  and  primitive  psalmody  of  the  church, 
and  to  bear  testimony  against  a  novelty,  from 
which  it  hath  never  derived  any  advantage.  A 
reverence  for  the  holy  scriptures,  whether  in 
the  originals,  or  in  allowed  translations,  com- 
pels me  to  disapprobate  all  poetical  liberties 
which  have  been  taken  with  them ;  but  I  beg 
it  may  be  remembered,  and  I  mention  it  once 
for  all,  that  my  reasonings  against  the  use  of 
versified  scriptures  are  not  intended  to  militate 
against  the  use  of  metrical  hymns  of  human 
eomposition,  provided  they  are  decent  poetry, 


x  PREFACE. 

intelligibly  expressed,  and  in  harmony  with 
"  the  faith  once  given  to  the  saints." 

If  I  have  written  with  ardour;  the  abun- 
dance of  the  heart  was  my  prompter.  If  I 
have  pushed  arguments  farther  than  was  abso- 
lutely necessary;  a  desire  of  elucidating  the 
subject,  and  of  meeting  every  objection  in  all 
its  bearings,  was  the  propelling  cause.  If  I 
have  represented  metre  psalmody  in  its  native 
colours,  and  traced  it  up  to  its  anti-episcopal 
origin;  it  was  with  the  view  of  convincing 
Episcopalians,  that  it  is  no  part  of  their  ec- 
clesiastical birthright.  If  I  have  given  a  suc- 
cinct history  of  chanting;  it  was  with  the 
view  of  inducing  our  clerical  and  lay  brethren 
to  adopt  and  cherish  the  psalmody,  which 
was  practised  by  Jesus,  by  his  apostles,  by 
the  Church  in  every  age  and  country  of 
Christendom;  and  which  hath  been  trans- 
mitted to  us,  along  with  Christianity  and  Epis- 
copacy y  by  our  venerable  mother  the  Church 
of  England.  And,  if  I  have  repeatedly  shown 
the  immutable  alliance  between  prayer  and 
praise,  and  that  neither  of  them  can  exist,  to 
any  valuable  purpose,  without  the  other;  it 
was  with  the  hope  of  exciting  the  members 
of  our  Zion,  the  more  fervently  to  practise  the 
one,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone. 

Let  no  person  imagine,   that  I  have  tra- 


PREFACE.  xi 

versed  an  unexplored  path,  and  removed  the 
thorns,  thistles,  and  stumbling-blocks,  which 
the  adversary  had  placed  in  my  way,  for  the 
sake  of  becoming  a  false  witness  for  God,  his 
holy  word,  and  the  offices  of  the  Church !  No 
— Mendacity,  I  well  know,  has  no  claim  to 
acceptance  with  the  God  of  truth. 

I  am  not  the  only  advocate  for  the  senti- 
ments contained  in  this  book ;  numbers  of  the 
most  erudite  of  my  clerical  brethren  are  of 
the  same  mind. 

In  the  course  of  correspondence  on  this 
subject,  Bishop  Griswold  writes  thus:  "  That 
metrical  psalmody  is  but  a  modern  invention, 
I  am  very  sensible,  and  most  cordially  agree 
with  you  in  the  opinion,  that  it  has  added  no- 
thing to  true  devotion  and  the  worship  of  God. 
The  conceit  of  versifying  the  psalms,  though 
it  seems  in  some  degree  to  unite  the  peculiar 
advantages  of  the  anthem  and  the  chant,  in  no 
less  degree  excludes  the  excellencies  and  effect 
of  both ;  and  owes  its  success,  not  so  much 
to  its  propriety  and  fitness  for  the  holy  sanc- 
tuary, as  to  its  gratifying  the  natural  propen» 
sity  of  mankind  to  be  pleased  with  rhymes 
and  metre.  Mankind  are  ever  pleased  to  see 
religion  yield  to  sense,  and  conform  to  the 
world,  and  especially  to  see  the  songs  of  Zion 
assimilated  to  the  carnal  muse.  The  so  ge- 
neral indulgence  of  this  propensity  has  long 


sii  PREFACE 

been  to  me  a  subject  of  serious  and  deep  con- 
cern."* 

A  variety  of  similar  extracts  might  be  ad- 
duced. 

Whatever  degree  of  deference  is  due  to 
public  opinion,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  that  the 
candid  part  of  the  community  will  not  be  of- 
fended at  beholding  that  opinion  examined, 
and  weighed  in  the  balances  of  the  sanctuary 
and  of  primitive  practice; — and  should  it  be 
found  wanting,  they  will  no,  doubt  estimate  it 
as  it  deserves.  But  should  any  of  my  readers 
be  displeased  at  beholding  the  label  Tekel\  ap- 
pended to  the  system  of  metre  psalmody,  the 
so  long  and  so  much  applauded  new  way  of 
praising  God,  let  me  request  them  not  to  be 
offended,  but  to  think  seriously  of  the  adage; 
Convince  a  man  against  his  will, 
He's  of  the  same  opinion  still" 

We  complain  of  a  prevailing  want  of  the 
spirit  of  praise  in  our  churches ;  but  it  is  to 
no  purpose  to  make  this  complaint,  unless  the 
grounds  and  reasons  of  it  be  explored,  and 
efforts  be  made  to  remove  or  counteract  them. 
To  every  person,  who  will  take  the  trouble  of 
perusing  the  following  sheets,  without  partia- 
lity and  without  prejudice,  the  reasons  for  the 
prevailing  want  of  the  spirit  of  praise  will  not 

*  Bristol,  July  8th,  1813.— Extr.  pub.  Auc.  rolente. 
f  Daaiei  v.  27.) 


PREFACE.  xiii 

xmly  appear  evident,  but  also  the  way  in  which 
it  may  be  removed.  And  who  would  not  de- 
sire to  be  endued  with  "  the  garment  of  praise" 
in  preference  to  "  the  spirit  of  heaviness?" 

Every  Episcopalian  either  does,  or  ought  to 
consider  his  Prayer  Book,  as  next  in  import- 
ance to  his  Bible ;  and  that  the  psalms  and 
hymns  embraced  by  its  several  offices  are  to 
be  classed  under  one  denomination,  and  the 
metre  psalms  and  hymns  under  another.  The 
former  are  constituent  parts  of  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer ;  the  latter  are  merely  arbi- 
trary adjuncts  to  it.  In  vain,  therefore,  do  we 
expect  the  spirit  of  praise  to  be  revived  by 
the  use  of  the  secundaries,  so  long  as  we  neg- 
lect the  proper  use  of  the  primaries.  Metre 
psalms  and  hymns  are  sung, — whilst  the  pro- 
saic psalms  and  hymns  are  read; — but  reading 
a  form  of  praise  can  no  more  be  called  an 
act  of  devotion,  than  looking  over  a  form  of 
prayer  can  be  called  an  act  of  supplication. 

In  the  presentation  of  every  act  of  praise 
to  the  divine  Majesty,  we  offer  either  an  ac- 
ceptable or  an  unacceptable  oblation.  If  the 
offering  be  agreeable  to  the  mind  of  God,  he 
accepteth  it;  but  if  it  be  not  agreeable  to  his 
will,  it  is  rejected.  Now  we  know  that  holy 
scripture  is  agreeable  to  his  will,  because  it 
emanated  from  himself;  but  where  shall  we 
find  satisfactory  evidence,  that  metrified  scrip- 
b 


xiv  PREFACE, 

tures  are  agreeable  to  his  will  ?  From  whence 
did  they  emanate? — Whether,  or  how  far, 
the  condescension  of  the  Father  of  Mercies 
may  wink  at  the  unwarranted  liberties  which 
have  been  taken  with  his  holy  word,  I  presume 
not  to  determine ;  for  such  is  his  unbounded 
clemency  towards  the  erring  children  of  men, 
that  he  winked  even  at  the  times  of  the  igno- 
rance of  idolatry  itself.*  But  if  there  beany 
doubts,  and  certainly  there  are  many  cogent 
reasons  for  doubting  both  the  propriety  and 
the  lawfulness  of  using  metrified  scriptures  in 
the  sanctuary ;  why  should  we  continue  to  of- 
fer up  to  the  divine  Majesty  an  oblation,  which 
lies  under  even  the  suspicion  of  having  a  ble- 
mish, when  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  provided  so 
many  lambs  without  blemish  (scripture  forms) 
for  the  express  purpose  of  being  presented  to 
him  with  "  the  calves  of  our  lips,"  on  his 
altar  of  praise  ?  In  the  oblation  of  any  act  of 
will- worship,  piety  of  intention  may  yield  an 
extenuation  of  the  guilt,  but  can  never  avail 
to  effect  a  justification  of  the  error. 

I  feel  no  hesitancy  in  asserting  that  the  ob- 
loquy which  hath  been  heaped  upon  the  pri- 
mitive way  of  "  setting  forth  God's  most  wor- 
thy praise/'  and  the  rejection  of  it  by  many 
of  the  reformed  churches,  in  order  to  make 

*  Acts  xrii.  S9. 


PREFACE.  xy 

room  for  the  newly- invented  metre  psalmody 
derived  from  Luther  and  Calvin,  began  to 
damp  the  spirit  of  praise  in  the  bosoms  of 
some  of  our  ancestors ; — that  the  continuance 
of  singing  metrified  scriptures,  and  of  only 
reading  prosaic  acts  of  praise,  increases  the 
disorder  in  us  their  posterity; — that  metrified 
scriptures  are  incompetent  to  excite  devotion ; 
— that  there  is  no  divine  promise  to  bless  the 
use  of  the  holy  scriptures  in  any  other  form, 
than  in  that  of  the  originals,  and  of  vernacular 
translations;* — and  that,  however,  with  their 
measured  feet  and  rhyming  cadences,  metri- 
fied scriptures  may  tickle  and  amuse  the  ear, 
they  are  incapable  of  ameliorating  the  heart 
with  its  affections. 

Should  any  of  my  readers  be  disposed  to 
call  in  question  the  truth  of  these  allegations, 
let  them  search  the  scriptures,  and  find  but 
one  text,  either  in  the  Old  or  New  Testament, 
that  authorizes  the  versifying  of  any  part  or 
parts  of  their  divine  contents  ;  or  the  assimi- 
lating of  the  Songs  of  Zion  to  those  of  the 
world ;  or  even  the  fitting  of  the  Psalms  of 
David  to  "  the  tunes  used  in  churches  "\ 


*  See  the  Collect  for  the  second  Sunday  in  Advent. 

f  See  an  account  of  the  origin  of  "  the  times  used  in  churches"  in 
the  Appendix,  Sect.  II. 

To  these  tunes  were  the  metre  psalms  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins, 
and  also  those  of  Tate  and  Brady  professedly  fitted,  as  appears  by 
their  respective  title-pages. 


xvi  PREFACE. 

Let  them  take  the  trouble  of  searching  the 
annals  of  the  Church,  particularly  the  writings 
of  the  15th  and  16th  centuries,  and  they  will 
see  what  contrivances  were  practised  to  foist 
rhyme  psalmody  into  the  Church,  and  to  ex- 
pel chanting  out  of  it.  And  let  them  consult 
the  ecclesiastical  historians  of  ancient  times, 
together  with  the  liturgies  of  the  primitive 
church;  and  with  one  accord  they  will  be 
found  to  testify,  that  the  practice  of  chanting 
scripture  hymns,  selected  verses  of  scripture, 
such  as  the  hymn  for  Easter-day,  and  also 
hymns  of  human  composition,  such  as  the  Te 
Deum,  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  &c.  obtained 
among  all  Christian  nations,  from  the  times  of 
the  apostles  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  15th 
century,  when  those  usages  suffered  in  some 
countries  a  temporary  interruption,  and  in 
others  a  total  excision. 

In  settling  the  present,  and  indeed  every 
question  of  reform,  great  regard  is  to  be  paid 
to  the  coincidence  between  scripture  testimony 
and  the  primitive  usage  of  the  Church  of  Christ; 
and  therefore,  to  the  diligent  inquirer  after 
primitive  truth  and  order,  the  direction  given 
by  the  prophet  Jeremiah  will  never  fail  to  be  a 
safe  and  sure  rule  of  procedure-—"  Stand  ye  in 
the  ways  and  see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths, 
where  is  the  good  way,  and  walk  therein.*'5 

*  Jeremiah  vi.  16, 


PREFACE.  xvii 

As  various  objections  have  been  offered  to 
the  venerable  and  once  universal  usage  of  vo- 
calizing the  appointed  psalms  and  hymns  of 
our  holy  offices ;  these  are  collected,  and  an- 
swered one  by  one,  that  the  objector  may  see 
that  more  deference  hath  been  paid  to  his  in- 
dividual objection,  than  could  have  been  done 
in  a  general  reply,  consisting  of  one  continued 
argument.  If,  in  any  of  these  replies,  the  ob- 
jector's partialities  should  appear  to  be  treated 
with  what  he  may  think  too  much  freedom, 
it  is  hoped,  that  candour  of  argument,  and 
the  elucidations  of  historical  evidence,  will  at 
least  obtain  for  them  a  patient  perusal,  and  in- 
duce him  to  consider  them  as  reasonings  offered 
to  wise  men,  u  zealous  for  holding  the  truth  in 
a  good  conscience." 

Great  would  be  the  change  in  the  lives  of 
men,  were  the  praises  of  God  continually  in 
their  hearts,  or  on  their  tongues ;  they  would 
then  resemble  the  glorified  spirits  in  heaven. 
If  churchmen  would  commit  the  psalms  and 
hymns  of  the  church  to  memory,  and  teach 
them  to  their  children,  they  might  then,  with- 
out book,  turn  their  duty  into  recreation,  and 
fill  up  many  a  vacant  hour  in  their  solitudes 
and  walks  to  good  account ;  instead  of  idling 
away  their  time,  or  "  whistling  as  they  go 
for  want  of  thought,5'  as  the  manner  of 
some  is. 

2b 


xviii  PREFACE, 

Were  the  Christians  of  modern  times  to  de- 
vote themselves  to  the  holy  and  heavenly  ex- 
ercise of  scripture  psalmody,  as  the  primitive 
Christians  did;  were  we  to  pay  as  much  regard 
to  the  constituent  acts  of  praise  in  the  Church, 
as  the  pious  Jews  of  old  did  to  those  in  the 
Temple,  we  should  have  infinitely  more  of  the 
spirit  of  devout  supplication,  and  infinitely 
more  of  the  spirit  of  unfeigned  obedience,  than 
we  do  possess. 

These  assertions  are  founded  upon  the  un- 
controvertible fact,  that  we  are  more  governed 
by  our  affections,  than  we  are  by  our  under- 
standings. 

To  win  upon  our  affections,  "  the  most 
worthy  praise"  of  our  heavenly  benefactor  is 
wonderfully  calculated.  Its  language  is  poetic 
and  harmonious,  its  sentiments  are  interesting 
and  sublime,  and  it  may  be  said  to  be  the  whole 
of  the  scriptures  in  miniature.  In  these  psalms 
and  hymns,  every  article  of  faith,  every  rule 
of  moral  obligation,  every  institution  of  the 
Gospel,  and  every  thing  appertaining  to  life  and 
godliness,  are  either  expressed  or  implied.* 

On  these  accounts,  how  precious  ought  the 
i;  most  worthy  praise"  of  our  heavenly  Father 
to  be  in  our  eyes  ?  How  worthy  ought  we  to 
esteem  those  psalms  and  hymns  of  "  double 


*  s 


ee  BlaekvelTs  Satred  Classics,  p.  219,  to  p.  223. 


PREFACE.  xix 

honour ;" — the  honour  of  pronunciation  in 
the  best  manner  that  the  rules  of  good  read- 
ing prescribe — and  also  the  honour  of  super- 
adding to  a  correct  pronunciation  those  chaste 
and  simple  harmonies  called  chants,  which, 
of  all  kinds  of  musical  compositions,  are  the 
best  calculated  for  making  "  Jehovah's  praise 
to  be  glorious.' ' 


CONTENTS 


©EJECTION  I. 

Chanting  is  an  innovation,  and  no  novelties  ought  to  be  admitted 
into  public  worship.    We  can  do  well  enough  without  chanting      1 

OBJECTION  H. 

(Chanting  is  a  Popish  custom,  and  therefore  it  ought  not  to  be 
admitted  into  our  churches  13 

OBJECTION  III. 

The  rubrics  are  more  favourable  to  metre  psalmody,  than  they 
are  to  chanting  21 

OBJECTION  IV. 

We  have  a  sufficient  quantity  of  praise  in  our  churches,  without 
ehanting  S5 

OBJECTION  V. 

Chanting  takes  up  too  much  time  41 

OBJECTION  VI. 

So  great  is  the  difference  between  metre  psalmody  and  chanting, 
that  my  ears  can  never  be  reconciled  to  it  44 

OBJECTION  VII. 

As  I  have  neither  voice  nor  ear  for  music,  if  chanting  be  admitted 
into  our  churches,  1  shall  be  deprived  of  the  benefit  which  I 
derive  from  responsive  reading  50 


xxu  CONTENTS. 

OBJECTION  VIIL 

Page: 
I  am  too  old,  and  it  ia  too  much  trouble  to  learn  to  ehamt  5S 

OBJECTION  IX. 

Let  chanting  be  omitted  during  our  life  time,  (say  some  aged  per- 
sons,) and  when  we  are  gone  hence,  let  our  posterity  accept 
or  reject  it,  as  they  please  61 

OBJECTION  X. 

Chanting  is  a  liindrance  to  deTotion  65 

OBJECTION  XI. 

Prosaic  psalmody  is  not  so  edifying  as  metre  psalmody  76 

OBJECTION  XIT. 

Chanting  is  not  so  animating  as  metre  psalmody  87 

OBJECTION  XIII. 

It  is  inexpedient  to  use  chanting,  as  there  is  no  internal  evidence 
in  the  prosaic  subjects  themselves,  that  they  ought  to  be  sung    101 

OBJECTION  XIV. 

The  English  language  is  not  sufficiently  harmonious,  to  admit  of 
being  sung  in  prose ;  and  therefore,  as  poetry  renders  it  more 
fiowiDg  and  vocal,  verse  is  better  adapted  to  musical  purposes    132 

OBJECTION  XV. 

Chanting  cannot  be  introduced  into  a  church,  without  the  aid  of  a 
choir,  and  choirs  generally  monopolize  the  singing  141 

OBJECTION  XVI. 

It  is  sufficient  to  chant  one  hymn  at  Morning,  and  another  at 
Evening  Prayer  176 

OBJECTION  XVII 

No  prayers  ought  to  be  sung;  and  therefore,  as  chanting  embraces 
precatory  subjects,  it  is  improper  to  be  admitted  into  the 
church  18L 


CONTENTS.  xxiS 

OBJECTION  XVIII. 

Page. 
If  the  vhole  Book  of  Psalms,  and  other  books  and  parts  of  books 
of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  are  in  poetry,  there  is  no  impro- 
priety nor  unlawfulness  in  turning  them  into  English,  or  any 
•ther  vernacular  poetry,  "  that  they  may  be  sung  to  the  tunes 
used  in  churches"  190 


APPENDIX. 

SECTION  I. 

The  origin  and  progress  of  metrical  hymnology  267 

SECTION  II. 

The  origin  and  progress  of  metrical  psalmody  26$ 

SECTION  HI. 

The  authorities  on  -which  metre  psalmody  stands,  exhibited  in  a 
retrogade  view  376 

SECTION  IV. 

The  rivalship  between  metre  psalmody  and  cathedral  musie         279 


As  the  Author's  situation  is  at  a  distance  from  the  press,  he  craves 
the  reader's  indulgence  for  such  errors  as  may  have  escaped  notice, 
and  begs  that  they  may  be  considered  as  errores  quos  incuria  type- 
graphica  facile  fudit,  ant  humana  parum  cavit  natura. 


THE 


REASONABLENESS,  &c. 


OBJECTION  I. 


C 


HALTING  is  an  innovation;  and  no  novel- 
ties ought  to  be  admitted  into  public  worship. 
We  can  do  well  enough  without  chanting. 

REPLY.* 

It  is  true  that  chanting  is  a  novelty  to  every 
one  who  hath  not  heard  it  before  :  but  was  not  a 
Bishop  once  as  great  a  novelty  in  this  country  ? 
Were  not  the  episcopal  acts  of  confirmation, 
of  ordination,  and  of  consecrating  churches,  also 
novelties  to  those  persons  who  had  never  beheld 
such  scenes  ?  On  the  account  of  their  being  no- 
velties in  this  country,  were  they  therefore  im- 
proper, and  unnecessary  to  be  introduced  into  our 
ecclesiastical  ceconomy  ?  Could  we  have  done 
well  enough  without  them? 

*  Let  it  be  remembered,  that,  in  these  replies,  no  reference  is  made 
to  the  diurnal  psalms,  because  the  rubrics  are  silent  as  to  the  manner 
of  using  them. 

A 


(     ■     ) 

Let  the  objector  please  to  recollect,  that, 
though  a  Bishop  may,  with  equal  validity,  per- 
form all  the  parts  of  his  episcopal  duty,  without 
his  canonicals  ;  yet  he  performs  them  with  more 
respectability,  in  the  eyes  of  a  congregation,  when 
clothed  in  the  robes  peculiar  to  his  office.*  In 
like  manner,  though  the  psalmodic  parts  of  pub- 
lic worship  may,  without  any  musical  accompa- 
niments, be  performed  with  equal  piety  and  devo- 
tion by  those  who  are  already  pious  and  devout ; 
yet,  to  the  generality  of  people,  those  decora- 
tions are  powerful  auxiliaries,  as  well  as  incen- 
tives to  piety  and  devotion;  because  they  are 
helps  to  the  setting  forth  of  God's  "  most  wor- 
thy praise"  in  the  "  clearest,  plainest,  most  af- 
fecting, and  majestic  manncr.'?| 

Let  the  objector  also  recollect,  that,  as  there 
never  was  a  time  without  Bishops  over  the  church, 
so  there  never  was  a  time  without  the  usage  of 
chanting  tlie  psalms  and  hymns  in  its  public 
oiilces.J 

Passing  by  the  testimonies  which  might  be 
collected  in  favour  of  chanting,  during  the  ages 
of  popery,  we  find  the  rubrical  words  sung  or 
mid  placed  before   the   psalms   and   hymns   of 


*  The  vestments  of  the  Jewish  High  Priests  were  by  God  himself 
appointed  for  "  glory  and  beauty."     Exi.d.  xxviii.  2. 

j  Preface  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

■t  a  Quoil  universa  ecclesin,  me  conciliis  institutum,  sed  sempei 
retentum  est,  auetoritate  apostolica  traditum  rectissime  creditur.'' 
St.  Aug.  lib.  iv.  de  Bap.  c.  6. 


(      3      ) 

morning  and  evening  prayer,  and  also  before 
similar  parts  of  the  other  offices  of  religion,  not 
only  in  all  the  revised  editions  of  the  English 
Prayer  Book,  of  which  that  of  1801  is  the  last; 
but  also  in  the  proposed  American  Prayer  Book 
of  1785,  and  in  the  adopted  one  of  1790. 

Now,  if  the  compilers  of  the  Books  of  Com- 
mon Prayer  had  not  been  confident,  that  there 
was  no  novelty  in  chanting  the  above-mentioned 
parts  of  public  worship,  it  is  very  improbable 
that,  in  the  rubrics,  they  would  have  ordered 
them  to  be  sung  or  said. 

These  portions  of  psalmody  are  uniformly  sung 
in  all  the  English  cathedrals,  which  are  the 
churches  of  the  Bishops ;  though  they  are  gene- 
rally said  in  the  parochial  churches,  the  seats 
of  the  presbyters. 

On  the  subject  of  a  partial  compliance  with 
the  cathedral  usage  of  chanting,  Dr.  Biss  thus 
writes:  «  It  is  the  duty  of  parish  churches,  as 
much  as  possible,  to  conform  to  the  customs  of 
the  cathedral  churches,  which  are  the  mother 
churches  to  all  the  parish  churches  within  the 
diocess,  and  should  give  the  rule  to  them  ;  which 
conformity  may  easily  be  effected,  where  the 
parish  churches  resemble  the  cathedrals  in  hav- 
ing choirs  and  organs/'* 

The  obvious  inference  from  this  assertion  is, 

*  Dr.  Biss's  Beauty  of  Holiness.    Note,  p.  95. 


(  *  ) 

that  it  is  as  much  the  duty  of  American  parish 
churches,  which  have  choirs  and  organs,  to  con- 
form to  the  musical  usages  of  the  English  cathe- 
drals, from  whose  Bishops  theirs  have  derived 
their  consecration ;  as  it  is  the  duty  of  English 
parish  churches,  which  have  choirs  and  organs, 
to  conform  to  the  usage  of  those  cathedrals  from 
whose  Bishops  their  clergy  have  derived  their 
ordination. 

So  far  indeed  is  chanting  from  being  an  inno- 
vation, that  the  want  of  it  rather  merits  that  ap- 
pellation. In  the  manner  of  a  chant,  the  song 
of  Moses  was  celebrated  by  the  whole  host  of 
Israel.^  This  manner  of  singing  the  praises  of 
Jehovah  was  established  by  David,  as  u  an  ordi- 
nance for  ever,  throughout  the  successive  gene- 
rations" of  the  Jewish  Church.  Our  blessed 
Lord  honoured  with  his  presence,  and  joined  in 
the  psalmody  of  his  mother  church ;  and  after 
his  ascension,  his  apostles  were  "  continually  in 
the  temple  praising  God,"  in  the  forms  of  his 
own  inditing.  Derived  from  Jesus  and  his  apos- 
tles, chanting  became  the  usage  of  the  first  Chris- 
tians, and  along  with  Christianity  was  dissemi- 
nated all  over  the  world.  Divinely  protected  dur- 
ing a  lapse  of  many  centuries,  it  passed  through 
the  tumults  of  the  reformation,  and  hath  been 
safely  transmitted  to  us  by  our  venerable  mother, 
the  Church  of  England. 

*  Exod.  xr.  i,  kc. 


C     5     ) 

About  the  year  370,  St.  Basil,  a  Bishop  of  the 
times  of  primitive  Christianity,  and  author  of 
one  of  the  liturgies  of  the  Greek  Church,  thus 
expressed  his  sentiments  concerning  chanting. 

"  Whereas  the  Holy  Spirit  saw  that  mankind 
is  unto  virtue  hardly  drawn,  and  that  righteous- 
ness is  the  less  accounted  of,  by  reason  of  the 
proneness  of  our  affections  to  that  which  delight- 
eth ;  it  pleased  the  wisdom  of  the  same  Spirit 
to  borrow  from  melody  that  pleasure,  which, 
mingled  with  heavenly  mysteries,  causeth  the 
smoothness  and  softness  of  that  which  toucheth 
the  ear,  to  convey,  as  it  were  by  stealth,  the  trea 
sure  of  good  things  into  man's  mind.  To  this 
purpose  were  those  harmonious  tunes  of  psalms 
devised  for  us,  that  they  who  are  either  in  years 
but  young,  or  touching  perfection  of  virtue,  not 
as  yet  grown  to  ripeness,  might,  when  they  think 
they  sing,  learn.  O  the  wise  conceit  of  that 
heavenly  teacher,  who,  by  his  skill,  hath  found 
out  a  way,  that  doing  those  things  wherein  we 
delight,  we  may  also  learn  that  whereby  we 
profit.5** 

The  second  part  of  the  objection  is; 
u  We  can  do  well  enough  without  chanting. v 
This  is  an  assertion  without  a  proof,  and  I 
beg  leave  to  lay  it  in  the  balance  with  what  Mr 

*  Hooker's  Translation,  p.  200.  Eccles,  Politv 
a2 


(     6      ) 

Hooker  has  advanced  to  the  contrary.  The 
words  of  that  illustrious  author  are:  "  and  shall 
this  C x\%,  the  sum  total  of  the  puritan9 s  objections 
to  chanting  J  enforce  us  to  hanish  a  thing  which 
all  Christians  in  the  world  have  received;  a  thing 
which  so  many  ages  have  held ;  a  thing  which 
the  most  approved  councils  and  laws  have  so  of- 
tentimes ratified  ;  a  thing  which  was  never  found 
to  have  any  inconvenience  in  it ;  a  thing  which 
always  heretofore  the  best  men  and  wisest  go- 
vernors of  God's  people  did  think  they  could  ne- 
ver commend  enough ;  a  thing  which,  as  Basil 
was  persuaded,  did  both  strengthen  the  meditation 
of  those  holy  words  which  were  uttered  in  that 
sort,  and  serve  also  to  make  attentive,  and  to 
raise  up  the  hearts  of  men;  a  thing  whereunto 
God's  people  of  old  did  resort,  with  hope  and 
thirst,  that  thereby  especially  their  souls  might 
be  edified;  a  thing  which  filleth  the  mind  with 
comfort  and  heavenly  delight,  stirreth  up  warm 
desires  and  affections  correspondent  unto  that 
which  the  words  contain,  allayeth  all  kind  of  base 
and  earthly  cogitations,  banisheth  and  driveth 
away  those  evil  secret  suggestions  which  our  in- 
visible enemy  is  always  apt  to  minister,  watereth 
the  heart  to  the  end  it  may  fructify,  maketh  the 
virtuous  in  trouble  full  of  magnanimity  and  cou- 
rage, serveth  as  a  most  approved  remedy  against 
all  doleful  and  heavy  accidents  which  befal  man 
in  this  present  life;  to  conclude,  so  fitly  accord 


<  r  ) 

eth  with  the  apostle's  own  exhortation,  i  speak 
to  yourselves  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiri- 
tual songs,  making  melody,  and  singing  to  the 
Lord  in  your  hearts,'  that  surely  there  is  more 
eause  to  fear  lest  the  want  thereof  be  a  maim, 
than  the  use  a  blemish  in  the  service  of  God  ?"* 

To  these  testimonies  of  illustrious  Ecclesias- 
tics it  is  proper  to  add  the  declaration  of  a  no 
less  eminent  Laic,  the  erudite  antiquarian  and 
musician,  Doctor  Burney,  of  Cambridge  College, 
Old  England,  a  writer  of  our  own  times.  His 
evidence  in  favour  of  chanting  is  expressed  thus : 
"  This  mode  of  singing  is  venerable  for  its  anti- 
quity, and  honourable  for  its  universality.  It  has 
never  been  applied  to  any  other  than  the  use  of 
the  sanctuary.  Its  simplicity  and  dissimilarity 
to  secular  music  precludes  levity  in  the  composi- 
tion, and  licentiousness  in  the  performance  ;  and 
it  possesses  a  beauty  of  character,  and  a  variety 
of  expression,  which  intelligent  hearers,  free 
from  prejudice,  will  always  discover  and  ad- 
mire."! 

But  if  these  testimonies  in  favour  of  trie  excel- 
lent way  of  "  setting  forth  God's  most  worthy 
praise"  are  not  altogether  satisfactory  to  the  ob- 
jector, let  him  have  the  goodness  to  attend  to  ad- 
ditional arguments,  whilst  we  reason  together. 


*  Eccles.  Polity,  B.  v.  p.  262. 

t  History  of  Music,  vol.  ii.  p.  21.  To  this  author  I  confess  my  ob- 
ligations for  many  sentiments  and  historical  facts  for  which  I  have  not 
been  able  to  make  the  references,  not  having  all  the  volumes  in  my 
possession. 


(      8      ) 

Every  creature  possesses  musical  powers,  and 
the  faculty  of  enjoying  musical  sounds  to  a  cer- 
tain degree ;  but  man  is  endued  with  these  capa- 
bilities in  a  degree  infinitely  superior  to  that  of 
any  other  creature,  of  which  we  have  any  know- 
ledge. His  ear,  his  voice,  and  his  organs  of  speech 
are  the  best  calculated  for  musical  intonation,  and 
he  feels  an  irresistible  propensity  to  apply  these 
talents  to  his  own  gratification.  The  light  and 
airy  part  of  our  species  cannot  do  without  music 
and  songs  of  a  character  similar  to  their  own. 
The  voluptuous  person  cannot  do  without  his  li- 
centious and  amorous  ditties;  nor  can  the  bac- 
chanalian do  without  his  appropriate  songs  in  ho- 
nour of  his  jolly  god.  The  huntsman  cannot  en- 
joy the  chase,  without  winding  his  horn ;  the 
sailor  cannot  heave  his  lead,  without  his  Nep- 
tunean  chant ;  nor  can  the  warrior  rush  into  the 
field  of  battle,  without  the  clangor  tubarum  of 
iifes,  clarinets,  trumpets,  horns,  and  drums. 
And  is  ihe  churchman  the  only  character  that 
can  do  well  enough  without  his  appropriate  songs 
and  music  ? 

Will  the  objector  say,  that  the  emancipated 
Hebrews  would  have  expressed  their  gratitude 
sufficiently,  without  chanting  the  celebrated  hymn 
recorded  in  the  15th  chapter  of  Exodus?  Would 
a  joy  and  rejoicing  for  their  miraculous  passage 
through  the  Red  Sea  have  accorded  with  the 
mere  saying  that  hymn,  or  the  hearing  of  it  said 
by  others  ? 


(      9      ) 

Could  the  Jewish  Church  have  done  well  enough, 
without  the  musical  establishment,  which  "  was 
ordained  by  a  statute  for  ever  throughout  their 
generations/9  for  setting  forth  Jehovah9s  great- 
ness, goodness,  mercy,  and  truth  ? 

Could  our  Lord  have  celebrated  the  Jewish 
Passover,  or  instituted  that  of  the  Christian 
Church,  without  chanting  the  appropriate  hymns 
of  his  own  institution,  without  dishonouring  the 
law? 

Could  Peter  and  John,  with  their  associates, 
have  sufficiently  expressed  their  joy  and  grati- 
tude, without  lifting  up  their  voice  with  one  ac- 
cord, to  sing  their  triumphant  hymn  of  praise 
and  prayer  ?  Or,  what  reason  have  we  to  imagine 
that  an  earthquake  would  have  been  commission- 
ed to  give  free  egress  from  prison  to  Paul  and 
Silas,  if  they  had  not,  at  the  midnight  hour, 
been  engaged  in  intercourse  with  God,  by  praise 
and  prayer  ? 

Let  the  professor  of  Christianity,  who  says  he 
can  do  well  enough  without  chanting,  consider 
that,  if  we  are  to  be  governed  by  scripture  max- 
ims, and  the  example  of  inspired  persons,  we 
cannot  do  justice  to  ourselves,  without  the  use 
of  supplication  in  a  "  meek  and  humble  voice/9 
neither  can  we  do  justice  to  God,  without  ascrib 
ing  the  honour  due  unto  his  name  with  the  ele- 
vated voice  of  «  praise  and  thanksgiving.99  With- 
out the  u«e  of  prayer  and  praise,  the  spiritual 


(    io    ) 

life  can  no  more  be  kept  alive,  than  the  natural, 
without  inhaling  and  exhaling  the  common  air. 

St.  John  describes  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord, 
in  their  abodes  of  bliss,  as  having  no  other  em- 
ployment than  that  of  singing  hallelujahs  "  to 
Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  to  the 
Lamb."  Now,  we  cannot  but  think,  that  he 
who  prescribed  them  that  employment,  appoint- 
ed what  was  most  for  his  own  glory,  and  the 
felicity  of  his  servants. 

The  Church,  both  under  the  Levitical  and 
the  Christian  dispensations,  is  said  to  have  been 
formed  according  to  the  pattern  of  things  in  the 
heavens;  but  how  dissimilar  to  the  heavenly 
original  would  the  earthly  copy  be,  were  there 
no  hallelujahs  chanted  in  Hie  assemblies  of  the 
saints;  and  were  the  opinion  to  prevail,  that 
Christians  can  do  well  enough  without  chanting  ? 

On  the  same  principle  that  one  says,  «  we  can 
do  well  enough  without  chanting,"  another  thinks 
he  can  do  well  enough  without  communicating 
in  the  holy  Eucharist.  On  the  same  principle 
also,  some  persons  select  such  of  the  evangeli- 
cal precepts  as  are  the  most  easily  obeyed,  and 
think  they  can  do  well  enough  with  a  partial  obe- 
dience. And  not  a  few  seem  to  act,  as  if  they 
thought,  that  they  could  do  well  enough  with  a 
religion  of  their  own  making,  or  with  none  at  all. 

What  an  astonishing  difference  between  the 
Christians  of  ancient  and  those  of  modern  times! 


(  11  ) 

In  accordance  with  the  apostolic  injunction ;  «  Is 
any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  psalms  ;"*  the  hearts 
of  those  heavenly  minded  persons  were  always 
attuned  to  the  songs  of  Zion ;  insomuch  so,  that 
whenever  they  assembled  for  public  worship, 
"  every  one  had  a  psalm."f  All  the  intervals  of 
labour,  business,  or  domestic  cares,  were  occu- 
pied with  chanting  forth  the  praises  of  God  their 
Saviour,  or  in  supplicating  his  direction  and 
blessing  on  all  the  works  of  their  hands4 

Can  we  reasonably  think,  that  the  bent  of  our 
desires  is  towards  God  and  heavenly  joys,  if  our 
hearts  are  so  dull  and  languid,  as  to  be  unable 
to  sing  and  give  praise ;  or  so  indifferent  to  the 
hallelujahs  of  the  choirs  of  heaven,  as  to  dis- 
countenance the  hallelujahs  of  the  church  upon 
earth?  Preparatory  to  our  joining  the  heavenly 
host,  we  must  become  like  them ;  for  to  beings 
possessed  of  affections  different  from  theirs,  hea- 
ven itself  would  be  no  heaven,  and  their  raptur- 
ous hymns  would  yield  no  delight. 

Is  it  credible  that  our  affections,  the  strings  of 


*  St.  James  v.  13. 

f  1  Cor.  xiv.   26. 

%  Dr.  Cave's  Prim.  Christianity.  If  the  primitive  Christians  were 
enthusiastically  fond  of  psalmody,  they  were  so  in  the  good  s<  nse  of 
the  word  &vQoucrttta-p.oe,  compounded  of  tv  in,  6aoc  Deus,  and  etoo 
spiro  seu  flo,  to  breathe.  And  it  appears  that  their  psalmodic  prac- 
tice wr.s  zealously  imitated  by  their  successors  for  many  generations, 
even  down  to  the  sera  of  the  reformation;  for  the  c I lants  and  an- 
thems of  religion  were  then  as  much  relished  all  over  Europe,  not 
onl)  in  church,  but  out  of  it,  as  oratorios  and  the  opera  have 
been  at  any  period  of  the  last  century, 


(    12     ) 

our  spiritual  harp,  are  harmonized  to  the  songs 
of  the  celestial  Zion,  or  that  we  entertain  any 
solicitude  about  our  joining  in  the  hallelujahs  of 
the  New  Jerusalem,  if  we  cultivate  no  desires 
of  presenting  ourselves  on  every  returning  day 
of  the  Son  of  man,  with  a  song  of  thanksgiving 
and  praise  ? 

How  tremblingly  alive  ought  our  fears  to  be, 
lest  he,  who,  whilst  on  earth,  refuseth  to  unite 
with  the  minstrelsy  of  heaven,  in  lauding  and 
magnifying  Jehovah's  glorious  name,  should  at 
last  be  found  unmeet  for  admission  into  the  jubi- 
lant choir  of  the  Almighty  King !  God,  by  his 
prophet  David,  hath  said,  "  Whoso  offereth  me 
thanks  and  praise,  he  honoureth  me;  and  to 
him  that  ordereth  his  conversation  aright,  I  will 
show  my  salvation."*  «  His  salvation  is  nigh 
them  that  fear  him,  that  glory  may  dwell  in  our 
land.,?j 

Christian,  be  persuaded  to  bear  in  mind  that 
thou  art  a  dependant  being,  trusting  to  the  Father 
of  mercies  for  the  preservation  of  thy  present 
life,  and  relying  on  the  atonement  and  interces- 
sion of  thy  Saviour  Jesus,  for  the  life  that  is  to 
come.  Wilt  thou  then  suffer  thyself  to  be  frozen 
in  the  ice  of  cold  indifference  to  thy  benefactor's 
praise ;  or  dost  thou  think,  that  for  neglecting  it, 
he  will  never  call  thee  into  judgment  ? 

*   Pea'm  xlvlii.  1  f  Fsa'rn  Ixxxv.  9- 


IS 


Our  God  is  a  great  God,  and  a  great  King; 
according  to  his  greatness,  so  is  his  praise.  He 
h  fearful  in  praises,  alone  doing  wonders.  There 
is  no  end  of  his  greatness,  goodness,  mercy, 
and  truth.  Our  tongues  are  not  able  to  speak 
all  his  praises,  nor  our  voices  to  extol  the  bound- 
less extent  of  his  love  to  the  children  of  men. 
He  inhabiteth  the  praises  of  eternity ;  and  all 
the  praises  and  glorifications  which  can  be  utter- 
ed during  the  continuance  of  time  and  eternity, 
to  him  of  right  do  belong.  Let  every  one,  there- 
fore, to  whom  God  hath  given  the  talents  of  voice 
and  ear,  "  come  before  his  presence  with  a 
song,"*  and  magnify  his  glorious  name,  which 
is  so  transcendently  excellent,  that  it  is  «  above 
all  blessing  and  praise."f 


OBJECTION  IL 

Chanting  is  a  Popish  custom,  and  therefore  it 
ought  not  to  be  admitted  into  our  churches. 

REPLY. 

Popery,  ever  since  the  commencement  of  the 
reformation,  hath  been  a  sort  of  watch-word, 


Psalm  c.  2.  f  Nehemiah  i*.  5. 

B 


c  **  ) 

and,  by  many  persons,  even  at  the  present  time, 
cyery  thing  in  religion  that  does  not  suit  their 
own  opinion  and  humour,  is  reckoned  Popish, 
and  therefore  erroneous.  Such  persons  would 
do  well  to  consider,  whether  an  individual,  who 
places  such  confidence  in  himself,  as  to  estimate 
his  own  opinion  higher  than  the  united  sentiment 
of  the  Christian  world,  has  not  assumed  a  chair 
of  infallibility  as  elevated  as  ever  any  Pope  was 
known  to  sit  upon  ?  Self-conceit  and  obstinacy 
create  Popes  in  every  country,  and  among  all  de- 
nominations of  Christians.  In  the  estimation  of 
such  Popes,  no  sort  of  popery  is  so  detestable  as 
Romish  popery. 

So  abominable  did  every  usage  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  appear  in  the  eyes  of  the  anti -episcopal 
reformers,  that  one  of  their  number,  the  cele- 
brated Mr.  Cartwright,  asserted,  "  it  is  more  safe 
for  us  to  conform  our  indifferent  ceremonies  to 
the  Turks,  which  are  far  off,  than  to  the  Papists, 
which  are  so  near."* 

To  this  assertion  Mr.  Hooker  made  the  follow- 
ing reply :  "  The  Romans  having  banished  Tar- 
quinius  the  Proud,  and  taken  a  solemn  oath 
that  they  never  would  permit  any  man  more  to 
reign,  could  not  herewith  content  themselves, 
or  think  that  tyrannic  was  throughly  extin- 
guished, till  they  had  driven  one  of  their  consuls 

*  T.  O.  fib.  i.  p.  131.    Printed  1570. 


(      A*      ) 

to  depart  the  citie,  against  whom  they  found  not 
in  the  world  what  to  object,  saving  only  that  his 
name  was  Tarquinius,  and  that  the  common- 
wealth could  not  seem  to  have  recovered  perfect 
freedom,  as  long  as  a  man  of  so  dangerous  a 
name  was  left  remayning.  For  the  Church  of 
England,  to  have  done  the  like,  in  casting  out  pa- 
pal tyrannie  and  superstition,  to  have  shewed 
greater  willingness  of  accepting  the  ceremonies 
of  the  Turk,  Christ's  professed  enemy,  than  of 
the  most  indifferent  things  which  the  Church  of 
Rome  approveth  :  to  have  left  not  so  much  as  the 
names  which  the  Church  of  Rome  doth  give 
unto  things  innocent :  to  have  ejected  whatsoever 
that  Church  doth  make  account  of,  be  it  ever  so 
harmless  in  itself,  and  of  ever  so  ancient  continu- 
ance, without  any  other  crime  to  charge  it  with, 
than  only  that  it  hath  been  the  hap  thereof  to  be 
used  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  not  to  be  com 
manded  in  the  word  of  God  :  this  kind  of  proceed- 
ing might  haply  have  pleased  some  few  men,  who 
having  begun  such  a  course  themselves,  must 
needs  be  glad  to  see  their  example  followed  by 
us.  But  the  Almightie,  who  giveth  wisdome,  and 
mspireth  with  right  understanding  whomsoever 
it  pleaseth  him,  he  foreseeing  that  which  man's 
wit  had  never  been  able  to  reach  unto,  namely, 
what  tragedies  the  attempt  of  so  extreme  altera- 
tion would  raise  in  some  parts  of  the  Christian 
world,  did,  for  the  endless  good  of  his  Church, 


(     16      ) 

(as  we  cannot  ehuse  but  interpret  it)  use  the  bri- 
dle of  his  providence  restraining  hand,  to  stay 
those  eager  affections  in  some,  and  to  settle  their 
resolution  upon  a  course  more  calm  and  mode- 
rate."* 

The  most  remarkable  allegation  that  ever  was 
preferred  against  chanting  responsively,  was  ad- 
vanced by  the  above  mentioned  Mr.  Cartwrigltt,  in 
these  words  :  "  The  singing  of  psalms  by  course,, 
and  side  after  side,  although  it  be  very  ancient, 
yet  it  is  not  commendable,  and  so  much  the  more 
•  o  be  suspected,  for  that  the  devil  hath  gone 
about  to  get  it  so  great  authoritie,  partly  by  de- 
riving it  from  Ignatius's  time,  and  partly  in 
making  the  world  believe  that  this  came  from 
heaven,  and  that  the  angels  were  heard  to  sing 
after  this  sort.  Which,  as  it  is  a  mere  fable,  so 
is  it  confuted  by  historiographers,  whereof  some 
ascribe  the  beginning  of  this  to  Damasus,  some 
others  unto  Havianus  and  Diodorus.f 

To  this  allegation  Mr.  Hooker  replied :  "  When 
and  how  this  custome  of  singing  by  course  came 
~jp  in  the  Church  is  not  certainly  knowne.  So- 
crates^  maketh  Ignatius  the  Bishop  of  Antioch, 
in  Syria,  the  first  beginner  thereof,  even  under  the 
Apostles  themselves.     But  against  Socrates  the;* 


*  Eccles.  Polity,  b.  iv.  p.  167,  where  please  to  sec  the  argument 
continued 

f  T.  U.  lib.  i.  p.  203. 

t  Ecc!ss.  Hist,  lib  vi.cpp  8 


C    17    ) 

set  the  authorise  of  Theodoret*,  who  draweth  the 
original  of  it  from  Antioch,  as  Socrates  doth : 
howheit,  ascribing  the  invention  to  others,  Havi- 
an  and  Diodore,  men  which  constantly  stoode  in 
defence  of  the  Apostolique  faith  against  the  Bi- 
shop of  that  church,  Leontius,  a  favourer  of  the 
Arians.  Against  both  Socrates  and  Theodoret, 
Platinaf  is  brought  as  a  witnesse,  to  testifie  that 
Damasus,  Bishop  of  Rome,  began  it  in  his  time. 
Of  the  Latin  Church  it  may  be  true,  which  Pla- 
tina  sayth.  And  therefore  the  eldest  of  that 
Church  which  raaketh  any  mention  thereof,  is 
St.  Ambrose,  Bishop  of  Milan  at  the  same  time 
when  Damasus  was  of  Rome.  Amongst  the 
Grecians,  St.  Basils  having  brought  it  into  his 
church  before  they  of  Neoeesarea  used  it,  Sabel- 
lius  the  heretique,  and  Marcellus,  took  occasion 
thereat  to  incense  the  churches  against  him,  as 
being  an  author  of  new  devices  in  the  service  of 
God.  Whereupon,  to  avoid  the  opinion  of  no- 
veltie  and  singularitie,  he  alleageth  for  that  which 
himself  did  the  example  of  the  churches  of 
Egypt,  Libia,  Thebes,  Palestina,  the  Arabians, 
Phenicians,  Syrians,  Mesopotamians,  and  in  a 
manner  all  that  reverenced  the  custome  of  sing- 
ing psalmes  together.  If  the  Syrians  had  it 
then  from  Basil.  Antioch,  the  mother-church  of 
those  parts,  must  needs  have  used  it  before  Basil, 

*  Theod.  lib.ii.  cap.  24.  f  Plat,  in  vita  Damasr. 

t  Basil,  Ep.  63. 

b2 


(     "     ) 

and  consequently  before  Damasus.  The  question 
is  then,  How  long  before,  find  whether  so  long, 
that  Ignatius,  or  as  auneient  as  Ignatius  may  be 
probablie  thought  the  first  inventors.  Ignatius,  in 
Trajane's  days,  suffered  martyrdome.  And  of  the 
churches  in  Pontus  and  Bithynia,  to  Trajane  the 
Emperor,  his  own  Vicegerent*  there  affirmeth, 
that  the  only  crime  he  knew  of  them,  was,  they 
used  to  meet  together  at  a  certaine  day,  and  to 
prayse  Christ  with  hymnes  as  a  God,  secum  inxi- 
cem  one  to  another  amongst  themselves.  Which, 
for  any  thing  we  know  to  the  contrary,  might  be 
the  self-same  forme  which  Philo  Jud&us  express- 
ed, declaring  how  the  Essenes  were  accustomed 
with  hymnes  and  psalmes  to  honour  God,  some- 
time all  exalting  their  voyees  together  in  one, 
and  sometime  one  part  answering  another,  where- 
in, as  he  thought,  they  swerved  not  mucli  from 
the  paterne  of  Moses  and  Miriam.f     Whether 


*  Plinii  secunda  epist. 

f  Isa.  vi.  3.  One  cherub  exclaimed, 

"  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  of  hosts!" 
And  the  other  cherub  responded, 

"  The  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory." 
This  hymn,  performed  by  tht  cherubim,  divided  into  two  choirs,  the 
©ne  singing  responsively  to  the  other,  which  Gregory  Nazian.  Carm. 
18,  very    elegantly    calls  IZv/uVuvoy,   etyrivtovov,   ayytxaiv  roto-ty, 
is  the  pattern  for  the  practice  of  alternate  singing,  which  prevailed 
in  the  Jewish  Church,  from  the  time  of  Moses,  whose  ode  at  the 
Red  Sea  was  thus  performed  (see  Exod.  xv.  20,  21.)  to  that  of  Ezra. 
under  whom  the  Priests  and  the  Levites  sung  alternately. 
*'  O  praise  J  ehovah,  for  he  is  gracious  ; 
"  For  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever."    Ezra  iii.  11. 
See  Bp.  Lowth  de  Sac.  Poesi  Heb.  Psal.  xix.  and  notes  on  Isaiah, 
p.  57. 
Ad  imitation  of  the  cherubic  manner  of  adoration  is  recommended 


(     19      } 

Ignatius  did  at  any  time  hear  the  angels  praysing 
God  after  that  sort  or  no,  what  matter  is  it?  If 
Ignatius  did  not,  yet  one  which  must  be  with  us 
of  greater  authoritie  did.  J  saw  the  Lord  (sayth 
the  prophet  Esay*)  on  an  high  throne,  the  sera- 
phims  stood  upon  it,  one  cryed  to  another,  saying. 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  of  hosts,  the  whole 
world  is  full  of  his  glory.  But  whosoever  were 
the  author,  whatsoever  the  time,  whensoever 
the  example  of  beginning  this  custome  in  the 
Church  of  Christ,  sith  we  are  wont  to  suspect 
things  only  before  tryall,  and  afterwards  either 
to  approve  them  as  good,  or  if  we  finde  them  evil, 
accordingly  to  judge  of  them,  their  counsel  must 
needs  seem  very  unseasonable  who  advise  men 
now  to  suspect  that  wherewith  the  world  hath 
had,  by  their  own  accompt,  twelve  hundred  years 
acquaintance  and  upwards,  enough  to  take  away 
suspicion  and  jealousie.  Men  know  by  this  time, 
if  ever  they  will  know,  whether  it  be  good  or 
evil,  which  hath  been  so  long  retained.  As  for 
the  devil,  which  way  it  should  greatly  benefit  him 
to  hear  this  maner  of  singing  pslames  accompt- 
ed  an  invention  of  Ignatius,  or  any  imitation  of 
the  Angels  of  heaven,  we  do  not  well  understand.!" 
The  Church  of  Rome  uses  the  Bible  and  the 


by  St.  Paul  to  the  Ephesians,  xaxoovts?  i>tvrois,  loquentes  invicera, 
speaking  in  alternate  response,  singing  or  saying  in  the  form  of  dia- 
logue.    Ephes.  v.  19. 

*  Isaiah  vi.  3. 

f  Ecdes.  Polity,  printed  1617,  b.  v.  261 


(     20     ) 

Lord's  Prayer.  Is  the  Bible  therefore  a  Popish 
Book,  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  a  Popish  Prayer  I 
There  is  just  as  much  truth  in  saying,  that  the 
Bible  is  a  Popish  Book,  and  the  Lord's  Prayer 
a  Popish  Prayer,  as  there  is  in  saying,  that  chant- 
ing is  a  Popish  usage.  Though  chanting  has  al- 
ways been  practised  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  the 
adoption  thereof  into  our  churches  will  not  any 
more  transform  us  into  Roman  Catholics,  than 
the  practice  of  metre-psalmody  hath  changed  us 
into  Lutherans  and  Calvinists. 

It  appears  to  have  been  a  ruling  sentiment 
among  the  anti-episcopal  reformers,  that,  so  long 
as  any  one  usage  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  re- 
tained, the  reformation  was  imperfect.  And  as 
that  Church  had  always  used  prosaic  psalms  and 
hymns,  but  no  metrified  scriptures,  it  seems  to 
have  been  thought  a  matter  of  necessity,  to  turn 
the  Psalms  of  David,  and  other  selected  scriptures, 
into  rhyme,  in  order  to  be  used  in  that  novel  dress* 
as  a  discriminating  badge  of  separation  from  the 
papacy.  Bishop  Burnet  says:  "  Some  poets,  such 
as  the  age  afforded,  translated  David's  Psalms 
into  verse  ;  and  it  was  a  sign  by  which  men's  af- 
fections to  that  work  ( the  reformation^  were 
every  where  measured,  whether  they  used  to  sing 
them  or  not."* 

During  the  progress  of  the  reformation,  chant* 

*  History  of  Reformation,  Part  ii.  p.  94. 


(     21     ) 

ing  was  always  kept  in  view  by  the  episcopal  re- 
formers, as  one  of  the  prominent  characteristics 
of  the  Church  universal.  At  the  present  time, 
this  usage  is  retained  by  Episcopalians  through- 
out the  world;  and  as  it  always  has  been,  so 
doubtless  it  ever  will  be,  even  unto  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things,  when  the  never-ending  chant 
of  the  hallelujah  of  men  and  angels  shall  com- 
mence. 


OBJECTION  HI. 

The  Rubrics  are  more  favourable  to  metre- 
psalmody,  than  they  are  to  chanting* 

REPLY, 

To  persons  unacquainted  with  rubrical  analogy ? 
and  the  unavoidable  ambiguities  attendant  on  all 
laws,  whether  ecclesiastical  or  civil,  the  words 
sung  or  said  appear  to  be  of  an  evident  and  defi- 
nite meaning  ;  but  to  nice  examiners,  their  mean- 
ing is  not  so  obvious,  as  to  admit  of  one  interpre- 
tation only.  Had  the  rubrical  expression  been, 
either  sung  or  said,  there  could  have  arisen  no 
question  concerning  their  precise  meaning :  and 
the  psalm  or  hymn  thus  rubricated  must  of  neces- 
sity be  either  sung,  exclusive  of  saying :  or  said, 


(     22      ) 

exclusive  of  singing.  But  the  rubric  uses  the 
words  sung  or  said,  and  the  practice  of  the  ori- 
ginal reformers,  with  that  of  their  descendants, 
affords  the  best  interpretation  of  its  meaning, 
In  the  English  cathedrals  and  collegiate  churches, 
the  psalms  and  hymns  of  public  worship  arc  nei- 
ther sung  exclusively  of  saying,  nor  said  exclusive- 
ly of  singing;  for  the  first  part  of  each  versicle  is 
said  with  an  unmeasured  and  almost  monotonous 
intonation  of  voiee,  and  the  remainder  is  sung 
with  a  varied  and  measured  flexion  of  voice. 
Thus  the  psalms  and  hymns  being  partly  said  and 
partly  sung,  are  verily  sung  and  said  at  the  same 
time.* 

It  hath  been  said,  that  in  virtue  of  the  disjunc- 
tive conjunction  or  standing  between  the  words 
sung  or  said,  it  is  left  to  the  option  and  taste  of 
every  congregation  either  to  sing  or  to  say  the 
psalms  and  hymns  of  our  holy  offices. 

Cathedral  practice  is  directly  the  reverse  of 
this  last  interpretation :  and  where  shall  we  ex- 
pect to  find  the  spirit  and  intent  of  the  rubrics 
better  preserved,  than  in  the  maternal  seats  of 
the  Church  ? 

A  construction,  founded  upon  the  hypothesis,. 


*  2  Chr.  xx.  21.    He  appointed  singers  to  praise  the  Beauty  of 
holiness,  aud  to  say,  Sec. 

Ps.  cxlv.  21.  My  mouth  shall  speak  the  praise  of  the  Lo.-d,  &c 

St.  Luke  i.  Ci.  "Zncharias  spake  andpi'aised  God. 

Ephes.  v.  19.    Speaking  and  singing,  &c. 

Ps  xs^ii  6.    1  will  sing  and  ^eah  praises  unto  the  Lor' 


(     23     ) 

that  the  particle  or  is  always  discriminative,  and 
therefore  indubitably  gives  a  choice  of  saying  or 
of  singing*  will  no  doubt  be  advocated  by  all  per- 
sons  who  wish  to  avail  themselves  of  every  plea 
for  indulgence  and  ease  in  the  service  of  Almigh- 
ty God,  and  who  care  but  little  for  having  his 
H  most  worthy  praise"  celebrated  in  the  most  ap- 
propriate and  majestic  manner  that  circumstan- 
ces permit.  Let  such  persons  but  consider  how 
ill  this  lukewarmness  accords  with  the  numerous 
scripture  texts  expressive  of  our  obligation  not 
only  to  speak f  but  to  sing  the  praises  of  our  gra- 
cious Benefactor,  and  they  will  see  that  no  inter- 
pretation of  a  rubric  can  contravene  the  authori- 
ty of  a  divine  sanction  for  singing  the  "  most 
worthy  praises"  of  the  Almighty  King. 

A  third  interpretation  of  the  rubric  meets  the 
various  exigencies  of  the  Church,  and  renders  it 
canonical  to  say  the  psalmodic  parts  of  public 
worship,  whenever  the  iron-hand  of  persecution 
oppresses  the  faithful,  and  *'  tunes  their  harp  to 
mourning,  and  their  organ  to  the  voice  of  them 
that  weep." 

Under  this  interpretation,  the  English  Episco- 
palians, during  the  eleven  years  of  the  suppression 
of  Episcopacy,  and  proscription  of  the  Prayer 
Book,  said  the  psalms  and  hymns  of  the  offices 
of  religion ;  and  upon  the  same  principle,  and 
in  the  same  manner,  did  the  Episcopalians  in 
Scotland  perform  their  psalmody,  during  the  long 


(     2*     ) 

protracted  season  of  the  "  abomination  of  deso* 
lation,"  which  trampled  them  in  the  dust. 

Io  the  days  of  her  prosperity,  the  Church  sings 
and  rejoices ;  but  in  the  days  of  her  adversity, 
she  is  sad,  and  her  voice  is  scarcely  heard.  Al- 
though she  lifteth  not  up  her  voice,  when  ba- 
nished from  the  sanctuary,  yet  she  counteth  it  all 
joy  to  partake  with  her  Lord  in  his  sufferings, 
in  hope  to  partake  with  him  in  his  glory. 

If  the  framers  of  the  rubrics  had  not  given  a 
decided  preference  to  the  usage  of  singing  the 
appointed  psalms  and  hymns  of  public  worship^ 
to  that  of  saying  or  reading  them ;  to  what  pur- 
pose does  the  minister  pray  before  the  doxology 
which  ushers  in  the  psalms  of  Morning  and  Even- 
ing  service,  "  O  Lord,  open  thou  our  lips;" 
and  the  people  respond,  "  And  our  mouth  shall 
show  forth  thy  praise  V9  What  is  the  end  in  view, 
when  the  minister  addresses  the  people,  saying, 
"  Praise  ye  the  Lord ;"  and  they  acclaim,  "  The 
Lord's  name  be  praised;"  unless  his  address 
and  their  acclamation  are  to  be  verified  in  spirit 
and  in  truth  ? 

That  the  objection  is  without  foundation,  is 
further  evident  from  a  consideration  of  the  se- 
cond of  the  enumerated  ends  of  assembling  for 
public  worship ;  namely,  "  to  set  forth  his  (God's) 
most  worthy  praise."  Here  the  adjective  is  in 
the  superlative  degree.  And  why?  Because,  at 
the  time  that  this  exhortation  was  composed,  a 


yivalship  was  set  on  foot  between  the  newly  in- 
vented metre  and  the  ancient  prosaic  psalmody 
of  the  church.*  To  get  clear  of  the  dispute  in 
the  most  prudential  manner,  it  was  thought 
advisable  to  testify  a  superior  approbation  of  the 
prosaic  psalmody,  by  the  expression  "  most  wor- 
thy praise,"  without  taking  any  notice  of  the 
metre  psalms,  which  were  deemed  a  very  ques- 
tionable species  of  praise.f 

The  expression  u  most  worthy  praise"  is  de- 
finite, and  indicates  that  the  appointed  psalms 
and  hymns  of  the  offices  in  the  Prayer  Book  are 
the  only  acts  of  vocal  psalmody  included  in  the 
definition.  The  circumstance  of  the  metre 
psalms  and  hymns  being  bound  up  with  the  Prayer 
Book,  no  more  constitutes  them  a  component 
part  of  that  book,  than  their  being  bound  up  with 
the  Bible  would  make  them  a  part  of  the  sacred 
volume.  On  the  same  principle  also,  the  «  Fa- 
mily Prayers,  and  the  Articles,"  though  bound 
up  with  the  American  Prayer  Book,  cannot  any 
more  be  considered  component  parts  of  it,  than 
the  "  Companion  to  the  Altar"  a  component 
part  of  the  English  Liturgy,  because  associated 
with  it  in  the  same  binding. 


*  In  the  first  Prayer  Book  of  Edward  VI.  printed  in  154S,  tbc 
3trvice  begau  with  the  Lord's  Prayer.  In  the  second  Book  of  Ed- 
ward, which  was  edited  in  1551,  the  sentences,  the  exhortation,  the 
■confession,  :md  the  absolution  were  piofixed ;  and  in  1661  the  general 
thanksgiving  wys  ad<!ed. 

•f  See  the  Savov  Conferences,  and  Dr.  Biss'  Beauty  of  Hoiines* 

c 


I      26     ) 

The  rubrics  before  the  metre  psalms  and 
hymns,  allow  them  to  be  sung  at  certain  points 
of  division  between  the  offices ;  but  no  where  al- 
low of  their  being  ingrafted  into  any  of  them, 
unless  we  consider  the  rubric  after  the  consecra- 
tion prayer,  and  that  before  Gloria  in  Excelsis 
in  the  communion  office,  capable  of  effecting 
such  engraftment.  Verily  metre  psalms  and 
metre  hymns  cannot  be  ingrafted  into  any  of 
the  offices  of  our  religion,  without  violating  the 
profession  which  is  made  in  the  preface  to  our 
Prayer  Book :  «  This  Church  is  far  from  intend- 
ing to  depart  from  the  Church  of  England,  in 
any  essential  point  of  doctrine,  discipline,  or 
worship ;  or  further  than  local  circumstances  re- 
quire." 

There  is  one  remarkable  iustance  of  a  rubric's 
countenancing  the  old  rivalship  between  metre 
psalmody  and  chanting.  In  the  communion  of- 
fice, a  rubric  orders,  «  Then  shall  be  said  or  sung, 
all  standing,  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  or  some  proper 
Hymn  from  the  Selection."  By  means  of  this 
rubric,  and  of  another  before  Gloria  in  Excelsis 
in  the  Morning  Prayer,  a  minister  may,  without 
incurring  ecclesiastical  censure,  expel  Gloria  in 
Excelsis  from  the  public  service,  during  the  whole 
period  of  his  incumbency. 

Another  instance  of  rivalship  between  the 
metre  and  prose  psalms  virtually  arises  out  of  a 
collusion  between  the  rubric  before  the  ten  selec- 


(     27     ) 

lions  from  the  prose  psalms,  and  the  first  para- 
graph of  the  ruhrie  before  the  metre  psalms, 
whereby  the  minister,  at  his  discretion,  is  allowed 
to  use  the  «  whole  Book  of  Psalms  in  metre," 
and  to  reject  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  Psalms 
of  David  in  prose. 

However,  the  rubrics,  before  the  proses  in  the 
several  offices,  are  rubrics  of  obligation,  and 
those  before  the  rhymes,  of  permit  or  allowance 
only,  except  in  five  instances,  viz.  before  the  deli- 
very of  the  elements — before  Gloria  in  Exeelsis — 
in  the  office  for  the  ordaining  of  Priests — invthe 
office  for  consecrating  a  Bishop — and  in  the  office 
for  consecrating  a  church  or  chapel.  In  these 
instances,  and  in  none  other,  the  expression  "  shall 
be  sung"  is  connected  with  metre  psalmody. 

Between  the  rubrical  words  shall  be  sung  or 
said  before  the  prosaic  psalms  and  hymns,  and  the 
expression  before  the  metre  psalms  and  hymns, 
allowed  to  he  sung,  at  the  discretion  of  the  minister. 
there  is  a  wide  difference.  The  former  is  an  au- 
thoritative command  ;  the  latter  is  only  a  permit, 
or  rather  a  mere  connivance.  The  species  of 
music  to  which  the  words  "  shall  be  sung"  refer, 
is  the  canonical  music  of  the  Church ;  that  to 
which  the  words  "  allowed  at  the  discretion  of 
the  minister"  refer,  is  not  her  canonical  music, 
but  a  species  of  music  altogether  adventitious 
and  foreign,  and  which  the  Church  is  so  far  from 
enforcing,  or  even  recommending,  that  she  but 


(     28      > 

allows  it ;  or,  in  other  words,  connives  at  a  prac- 
tice, which  she  considers  equally  unpopular  to* 
condemn,  as  unecclesiastical  to  sanction. 

Practice,  founded  upon  ministerial  discret ion,  is 
various  as  to  its  extent.  In  some  churches,  a 
metre  psalm  or  hymn  is  sung  before  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer ;  in  others  none  is  used.  With  a 
very  few  exceptions,  no  metre  is  sung  after  sermon 
at  Morning  Prayer.  In  some  churches,  other 
metre  hymns  are  used  beside  the  allowed  ones. 

By  the  rubrics  of  our  Prayer  Book  there  are 
about  forty  allowances  to  exercise  ministerial 
discretion;  and  although,  to  the  minister  who 
avails  himself  of  them,  they  afford  a  shield 
against  the  imputation  of  unrubricalness ;  yet,  to 
him  who  rejects  the  indulgencies  which  they 
offer,  they  become  not  laws  of  obligation. 

For  instance;  instead  of  the  psalms  of  the 
day,  an  allowance  is  given  to  use  one  of  the  se- 
lections ;  but  the  minister  rejects  the  allowance, 
and  uses  the  psalms  of  the  day.  An  allowance 
is  given  to  omit  certain  parts  of  the  Litany,  but 
lie  is  not  deemed  unrubrical  if  he  uses  the  whole 
of  it. 

In  like  manner,  though  an  allowance  be  given 
to  use  Tate  and  Brady's  psalms,  the  minister's  dis- 
cretion being  rubrically  appointed  the  counsellor 
to  direct  him,  whether  to  accept  or  reject  the 
allowance,  he  is  equally  rubrical  whether  fee 
does  the  one  or  the  other. 


(     29     ) 

The  Mosaic  law  gave  an  allowance  to  hard- 
hearted Israelites  to  put  away  their  wives ;  hut 
that  allowance  did  not  oblige  them  to  do  so. 
Neither  do  the  allowances  for  curtailing  the  ser- 
vice, or  for  using  metre  psalms  and  hymns,  lay 
our  Clergy  under  a  necessity  of  doing  the  one 
or  the  other. 

In  our  Church,  the  allowance  for  singing  Tate 
and  Brady's  psalms  is  submitted  to  the  discretion 
of  the  minister.  A  similar  allowance  for  the  use 
of  the  same  psalms,  granted  by  the  King  of 
England  and  his  council,  stands  referred  to  "  those 
churches,  chapels,  and  congregations,  as  shall 
think  Jit  to  receive  the  same.  The  only*  differ- 
ence between  the  proviso  annexed  to  each  of 
these  allowances,  is,  that,  in  the  former  case, 
the  psalms  lie  at  the  discretion  of  the  minister ; 
and  in  the  latter,  at  congregational  option.  But 
so  far  are  English  congregations  from  consider- 
ing themselves  bound  to  accept  the  Royal  allow- 
ance9  that,  at  the  present  time,  Sternhold's,  Bra- 
dy's, and  also  Merrick's  are  used  occasionally  in 
several  of  the  collegiate,  and  many  of  the  parish 
churches  throughout  the  realm.* 

The  words  sung  or  said  are  always  placed 
before  subjects  in  prose,  which  admit  not  of 
being  sung  to  metrical  music.  Hence  it  appears 
that  the   Church,  in  her  offices,  recognizes  no 

*  Alo:t  20  years  since  Merrick's  Version  was  introduced  into 
ftaeeii's  College,  Oxford,  by  its  then  head,  the  llew  Dl\  Moukhousc, 


(       oO       ) 

other  sort  of  music  than  that  to  which  prosaic 
subjects  are  com  mens  urate ;  and  that  wherever 
7io  metrical  music  is  practised,  the  appointed 
proses  are  allowed  to  be  said ;  but  that,  wherever 
metre  psalms  and  hymns  are  sung,  the  prosaic 
forms  of  praise  are  to  be  chanted ;  because  the 
capability  of  singing  metres  is  competent  to  the 
singing  of  proses,  the  opportunities  of  instruc- 
tion being  equal.  A  wilful  neglect,  therefore, 
to  sing  the  prosaic  psalms  and  hymns  of  the 
offices  of  our  religion,  amounts  to  an  intentional 
non-compliance  with  the  intent  of  the  rubrics 
relative  to  the  canonical  psalmody  of  the  Church. 
And,  so  long  as  any  congregation  rejects  the 
practice  of  chanting  the  prosaic  psalms  and  hymns 
of  public  worship,  just  so  long  may  it  be  said  to 
be  without  canonical  music. 

Were  metrified  scriptures  to  be  considered  the 
canonical  psalmody  of  the  Church,  then  it  had  no 
canonical  psalmody  before  the  beginning  of  the 
fifteenth  century ;  when,  about  the  year  1412,  John 
Huss,  one  of  the  Bohemian  reformers,  invented 
the  method  of  versifying  some  of  David's  Psalms, 
in  the  German  language,  for  the  use  of  his  con- 
verts from  popery.  But,  if  this  invention  be  a 
thing  so  very  precious,  and  so  conducive  to  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  men,  as  its 
advocates  think  it  is,  why  was  it  not  revealed 
and  inculcated  from  the  beginning?  Why  was 
not  the  mystery  of  rhyme  revealed  to  some  of 


(     31     ) 

the  prophets  either  of  the  Levitieal  or  Evangeli- 
cal dispensations  ?  What  reason  can  be  assigned, 
why  the  Holy  Spirit,  during  the  ages  of  direct 
inspiration,  gave  no  communications  concerning 
the  mighty  art  of  versifying  his  own  oracles  ? 

In  none  of  the  ancient  archives  of  the  Church 
do  we  find  any  monument  avouching  the  use  of 
metrified  scriptures  in  the  worship  of  Almighty 
God,  anterior  to  the  fifteenth  century.  With  jus- 
tice, therefore,  it  may  be  deemed  an  innovation, 
and  "  we  need  not  be  ashamed  to  avow  the  senti- 
ment, that  all  novelty  in  religion — and  under  the 
term  novelty  may  be  comprehended  whatever 
has  come  under  that  name  for  at  least  fifteen 
hundred  years  past— carries  the  brand  of  error 
on  the  very  face  of  it.*'* 

Whilst  our  blessed  Lord  sojourned  upon  this 
earth,  his  ears  were  never  saluted  with  rhyming 
psalmody;  nor  does  it  appear  that  his  apostles 
had  any  knowledge  of  it.  For  a  space  of  four- 
teen hundred  years  it  was  a  thing  utterly  unknown 
among  Christians.  At  the  present  time,  metrified 
scriptures  are  unknown  to  the  greater  part  of  the 
Christian  world ;  and  they  are  only  tolerated  by 
the  reformed  Episcopal  authorities  of  Europe, 
and  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  America. 
These  allowances,  to  use  metrified  scriptures  in 
the  worship  of  Almighty  God,  are  so  far  from 

*  Bishop  White's  Lectures  on  the  Catechrsm,  p.  113 


being  proofs  that  they  are  the  proper  psalmody 
of  the  Church,  that  they  are  direct  and  perma- 
nent vouchers  to  the  contrary. 

If  there  be  any  truth  in  history,  any  reliance 
to  be  placed  on  canons,  statutes,  and  public  acts 
of  the  Church,  it  may,  without  hesitancy,  be  af- 
firmed, that  metrified  scriptures  are  a  human  in- 
vention, the  effervescence  of  a  fiery  opposition  to 
popery,  unauthorized  by  scripture,  introduced  into 
the  Church  of  England  by  her  avowed  adversa- 
ries, by  means  of  provisos  and  cunning,  during 
a  period  of  civil  convulsion  and  ecclesiastical 
discord,  and  retained  merely  by  permits  and  pas- 
sive toleration. 

No  person  conversant  with  Church  history  can 
be  ignorant  of  these  things ;  but  unfortunately 
for  the  psalmodie  parts  of  public  worship,  no  re- 
searches are  less  regarded  than  those  which 
refrr  to  the  praises  of  God  in  his  holy  temple. 

Whenever  the  inventions  of  men  come  in  com- 
petition with  the  revelations  of  God,  the  pre- 
tence of  improvement  never  fails  to  obscure  the 
fair  horizon  of  primitive  truth  and  order;  and 
scripture  in  a  metrical  or  secularized  form,  be- 
comes a  rival  to  scripture  in  its  original  prosaic 
form,  and  also  to  all  authorized  translations. 

Let  the  scripture  criterion,  "  By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them,"  be  fairly  applied,  and  in- 
stantly this  rivalship  will  vanish.  The  good 
fruits  of  psalmody  in  the  words  of  holy  scripture 


(     33     ) 

have  always  been  plenteous,  and  numerous  are 
the  testimonies  in  its  favour.  But  where  shall 
we  find  any  account  of  the  good  fruits  of  metre 
psalmody,  the  so  much  extolled  new  way  of 
praising  God? 

During  a  period  of  about  260  years,  metrified 
scriptures  have  cumbered  the  soil  of  the  English 
Church ;  but  as  no  accounts  have  as  yet  been  given 
of  their  producing  any  fruits,  either  to  the  glory 
of  God,  or  to  the  good  of  men,  we  are  at  liber- 
ty to  suppose,  that  "  the  time  of  their  bearing 
fruit  is  not  yet  come:"— and  if  so,  when  will 
it  come  ?  After  a  variety  of  conversations  with 
metre  psalmodists  and  advocates  for  versified 
scriptures,  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain 
that  a  single  individual  made  profession,  that  his 
soul  magnifies  the  Lord,  and  that  his  spirit  re- 
joices in  the  God  of  his  salvation,  whilst  he  is 
singing  these  artificial  forms  of  praise.  Some 
have  acknowledged  that  there  was  something 
wanting  in  rhyme  psalmody  to  fan  the  fire  of 
devotion,  though  they  could  not  tell  precisely 
what  it  was;  and  others  have  confessed  that 
metre  psalmody  has  in  it  more  of  recreation 
than  of  devotion,  and  that  its  principal  utility 
consists  in  separating  one  part  of  the  service 
from  another. 

Among  the  various  Christians  opposed  to  the 
hierarchy,  metre  psalmody  hath  always  been 
considered    the  perfection  of  praise.      Among 


(     3*     ) 

well  informed  Episcopalians,  it  hath  always 
been  reckoned  a  deformity  imposed  upon  the  fair 
face  of  liturgical  worship ;  and  in  proportion  as 
church  men  have  fallen  below  the  standard  of 
primitive  Christianity,  they  have  fallen  more  and 
more  in  love  with  the  novelty.  In  proportion 
as  the  excrescence  hath  increased,  and  spread 
over  the  face,  its  deformity  hath  apparently  les- 
sened; and  the  mole,  so  long  and  so  often  re- 
flected in  the  speculum  of  rhyme,  hath  become* 
in  the  eyes  of  many  of  our  people,  superlatively 
beautiful,  and  a  sure  symptom  of  spiritual  health. 
Condensing  all  the  allowances  which  have, 
at  any  time,  been  granted  for  using  metrified 
psalmody,  I  am  warranted  in  saying,  though-  it 
be  allowed  to  stand,  as  it  were,  at  the  porch,  it 
is  not  permitted  to  advance  farther ; — but  as  to 
prosaic  psalmody,  it  retains  its  right  to  its  sta- 
tion at  the  chancel.  For  ever  it  hath  stood  near 
the  altar,  ".  speaking  and  singing  praises," 
heightening  the  fervors  of  devotion  in  prayer, 
enkindling  the  incense  of  gratitude  in  praise> 
and  brightening  the  intellectual  faculty,  the  bet 
ter  to  understand  the  scriptures, 


C     35     ) 


OBJECTION  IV. 

■*'  We  have  a  sufficient  quantity  of  praise  in 
our  churches,  without  chanting.'' 

REPLY. 

It  is  readily  granted,  that  our  morning  and 
evening  services  contain  a  sufficient  measure  of 
prayer ;  for  they  comprehend  petitions  for  "  all 
those  things  which  are  requisite  and  necessary,  as 
well  for  the  body  as  the  soul."  It  is  also  granted, 
that  they  contain  a  sufficient  measure  of  the  in- 
cense of  praise,  which,  in  the  exhortation,  is 
called  "  his  (God's)  most  worthy  praise." 

Now,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  let  us  suppose 
that  metrical  psalms  and  hymns  (the  species  of 
praise  on  which  the  objection  is  predicated)  are 
ecclesiastical  acts  of  praise ; — let  it  be  asked, 
Where  is  their  measure  ?  What  rubric  or  crite- 
rion is  there  for  ascertaining  how  much,  or  how 
many  of  them  constitute  a  sufficiency,  or  even  a 
single  act  of  praise  ?  Are  they  not  altogether 
fortuitous,  sometimes  more  lines,  sometimes 
fewer,  at  the  discretion  of  the  minister,  or  that 
of  his  clerk  ? 

Though  the  periods  are  assigned,  at  which,  by 
a  rubrical  permit,  metre  psalms  and  hymns  are 
tallowed  to  be  sung ;  yet  the  measure  or  quantity 


(     36     ) 

of  them,  at  any  time  of  singing,  is  equally  inde* 
terminate,  as  are  the  length,  breadth,  and  thick- 
ness of  an  extemporary  prayer.  Having  no  mea- 
sure of  application,  no  canon  nor  rubric  prescrib- 
ing a  certain  portion  at  each  time  of  singing,  we 
can  never  ascertain  whether  the  quantity  of  me- 
trical praise  is  sufficient  or  insufficient  for  the 
occasion. 

If  the  objector  really  believes  that  metrical 
psalmody  is  implied  in  the  definition,  "  his  most 
worthy  praise;99  let  him  have  the  goodness  to 
think  of  suitable  replies  to  the  following  interro- 
gatories. 

Why  are  acts  of  prayer  circumscribed  hy forms, 
when  acts  of  praise  are  left  to  the  discretion  of 
the  minister  %  How  comes  it,  that  acts  of  praise 
are  made  to  depend  upon  the  discretion  of  the  mi- 
nister, and  acts  of  prayer  upon  the  sanction  and 
authority  of  the  aggregate  body  of  the  Church,  if 
they  are  duties  of  equal  magnitude  and  of  equal 
obligation?  If  metrical  psalms  and  hymns  be 
the  praise  implied  in  the  definition,  most  worthy 
grraise,  and  are  left  to  the  minister's  discretion  to 
use  whatever  portions  of  them  he  pleases,  why 
is  he  not  also  left  as  much  at  liberty  to  use  what- 
ever prayers  his  discretion  may  select  from  the 
Family  Prayers  bound  up  with  the  Prayer  Book  2 

Every  well-informed  churchman  knows  that 
it  is  repugnant  to  the  nature  of  Liturgical  wor- 
ship, to  allow  the  minister's  discretion  so  wide  a 


C      37      } 

latitude,  that  lie  may  alter,  add  to,  or  subtract 
any  prayer  from  the  appointed  offices. 

It  is  the  minister's  bounden  duty,  and  a  pro- 
minent part  of  his  ordination  engagements,  to  use 
the  acts  of  prayer  and  praise,  just  as  he  finds 
them  prescribed  in  his  Prayer  Book.  If  this  were 
not  the  case,  acts  of  prayer  being  fixed,  and  acts 
of  praise  being  at  the  discretion  of  the  minis- 
ter, would  stand  upon  different  authorities.  But 
this  were  a  contradiction  in  terms ;  for  the  rubrics 
specify  the  various  acts  of  praise  which  apper- 
tain to  every  service,  and  the  exhortation  desig- 
nates them  as  fixed  and  unalterable,  and  annexes 
to  them  the  honourable  epithet — "  his  (God's) 
most  worthy  praise."  Therefore  they  are  the 
appropriate  psalmody  of  tire  Church,  and  alone 
afford  a  sufficiency  of  praise :  whereas  the  me- 
trical psalms  and  hymns,  left  at  the  discretion  of 
the  minister,  are  no  part  of  the  public  worship— 
nor  even  necessary  to  it  as  concomitants. 

When  it  is  considered  that  metre  psalms  and 
hymns  are  no  constituent  part  of  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  it  is  obvious  to  the  meanest 
comprehension,  that  they  are  not  «•  the  most  wor- 
thy praise,"  which  we  are  invited  to  set  forth. 
And  indeed  to  this  truth  all  our  congregations 
bear  ample  testimony,  by  their  sitting  whilst 
they  sing  the  metre  psalms  and  hymns;  they 
would  certainly  stand,  whilst  they  are  sung,  if 
they  considered  them  as  acts  of  worship,*  for 
D 


(     S8     ) 

every  one  knows  that  siting  is  no  suitable  posture 
either  for  prayer  or  for  praise. 

By  persons  not  possessed  of  correct  informa- 
tion on  this  subject,  it  may  naturally  be  imagin- 
ed, that  metre  psalms  and  hymns  are  really 
constituent  parts  of  public  worship ;  as  our  clerks 
and  choristers  generally  give  them  out  in  these 
or  similar  magisterial  forms  ;• — Let  us  sing  to  the 
praise  and  glory  of  God9  &c. — Let  us  continue 
the  solemn  worship  of  Almighty  God,  by  singing  to 
his  praise,  &c, — Let  us  conclude  the  solemn  wor- 
ship of  JLlmighty  God,  by  singing  to  his  praise, 
&c. — This  is  the  very  cant  that  was  used  in  the 
hottest  times  of  puritanism. 

Hearing  so  frequently  these  and  similar  pedan- 
tic forms  of  giving  out  the  metre  psalms  and 
hymns,  the  generality  of  our  people  are  unwa- 
rily led  to  consider  them  as  a  kind  of  praise  su- 
perior to  prosaic  psalmody.  But,  let  it  be  asked* 
where  do  our  clerks  and  choristers  find  these 
editorial  prefaces  to  the  portions  of  metre  psal- 
mody, which  they  invite  the  people  to  sing ?  By 
what  authority  are  they  warranted  to  use  any 
prefatory  address  at  all  ? 

The  rubrics  of  the  Prayer  Book  give  no  allow- 
ance for  a  single  word  to  be  used  at  the  enuncia- 
tion of  a  metre  psalm  or  hymn — the  psalm,  verse, 
and  quantity  are  simply  to  be  named.  Every 
invitatory  formula  of  giving  out  the  metrical 
psalmody  is  verily  an  invasion  of  the  priest's  of- 


(      39      ) 

fice  ;*  of  which,  I  trust,  no  well  informed  clerk 
or  chorister  would  intentionally  be  guilty.  But 
the  tyrant  custom  has  perpetuated  the  use  of  these 
introductory  forms,  whilst  most  of  our  people 
remain  ignorant  of  their  origin  and  intention. 

They  were  first  adopted  by  the  avowed  adver- 
saries of  our  Mother  Church,  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  depreciating  the  use  of  prosaic  psalmody, 
and  of  impressing  a  belief,  that  metrical  psalmody 
only  was  acceptable  to  God,  and  the  only  true 
way  of  vocally  promoting  his  glory  and  honour 
in  the  assemblies  of  his  saints.  Were  the  origin 
of  these  forms  unrecorded  on  the  page  of  history, 
the  bombast  and  self-sufficiency  of  the  diction 
might  teach  us,  that  they  did  not  originate  la 
that  family,  whose  simple  and  reverend  form  of 
announcing  its  vocal  acts  of  gratitude  and  jubila- 
tion is  expressed  in  the  language  of  scripture ; 
"  Praise  ye  the  Lord."| 

In  the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer,  there  is 
both  a  certain  and  a  sufficient  measure  of  the  in- 
cense of  praise ;  which,   in   the  exhortation,  is 


*  It  is  the  duty  of  the  minister  to  give  out  the  ecclesiastical  psalm 
or  hymn,  which  he  intends  to  be  chanted;  and  this  is  done  by  recit- 
ing the  first  strophe  thereof.  Bat  it  is  incorrect  in  the  minister  to 
give  out  the  metre  psalms  and  hymns,  because  they  are  foreign  1o 
bis  office,  being  no  part  of  the  Prayer  Book.  To  a  laic  only  this 
duty  belongs. 

■J-  Psalm  cl.  1.  Rev.  xix  t,  3.  In  all  the  reformed  Prayer  Books 
antecedent  to  the  second  of  Edward  VI.  the  minister  pronounced 
the  word  Hallelujah  as  prefatory  to  the  succeeding  act  of  praise,  and 
the  people  responded  Hallelujah;  bit  in  that  book  the  word  is  trans- 
ited into— Praise  ye  the  Lord;  and.  The  Lord's  name  be  praised 


(   *o   ; 

culled  Goti*s  most  worthy  praise.  This  measure 
of  praise  is  commensurate  to  the  measure  of 
prayer,  which  embraces  all  those  things  which 
are  requisite  and  necessary  as  well  for  the  body 
as  the  soal;  and  is  therefore  the  exclusive  mea- 
sure of  psalmody  recognized  by  the  Church. 
The  individual  portions  of  this  aggregate  mea- 
sure of  praise  are  called,  Psalms,  Hymns,  and 
(Janik'k's;  and  when  sung,  they  correspond  with 
their  tides;  but  when  read*  cr  merely  recited,  they 
do  not :  that  k,  when  we  read  a  psalm  or  hymn* 
we  use  it  as  we  would  any  other  part  of  scripture, 
whether  historical,  prophetical,  or  didactic,  for 
our  own  benefit ;  but  when  we  sing  a  psalm  or 
hymn,  we  use  it  as  scripture  offered  up  to  God 
as  a  form  of  praise  of  his  own  inditing. 

The  practice  of  reading  or  saying  any  psalm 
or  hymn  in  opposition  to  its  title,  and  the  nature 
and  import  of  its  subject,  is  certainly  a  contradic- 
tion in  terms  ; — and,  to  argue  that  it  ought  to  be 
read  and  not  sung,  because  there  is  supposed  to 
exist  already  a  sufficiency  of  vocal  praise  arising 
from  metre  psalmody,  implies  a  total  want  of 
information  on  the  subject.  This  supposition  is 
a  non-entity,  and  unworthy  of  being  advocated 
by  any  churchman,  who  is  capable  of  discrimi- 
nating what  is  essential  to  Episcopal  worship, 
from  what  hath  been  derived  from  its  adversaries. 


.     (     41     ) 

OBJECTION  V. 

*  Chanting  takes  up  too  much  time." 
REPLY. 

This  is  not  a  rational,  but  a  mere  physical 
objection. 

By  actual  experiment  it  hath  been  ascertained 
that  the  difference  of  time  between  the  reading  and 
the  chanting  of  all  the  hymns  of  morning  prayer, 
does  not  exceed  eight  or  nine  minutes  at  the  ut- 
most. And  is  this  sufficient  ground  whereon  to 
build  an  objection  to  the  primitive  way  of  "  set- 
ting forth  God's  most  worthy  praise  ?" 

Time  is  the  most  precious  of  all  the  terrestrial 
girts  of  God  to  the  children  of  men.  There  is  but 
a  single  moment  of  it  in  the  world  at  once,  which, 
when  withdrawn,  is  instantly  succeeded  by  an- 
other. The  present  moment  only  is  ours ;  the  fu- 
ture lies  hidden  in  the  abyss  of  eternity.  Wisely 
do  we  appreciate  the  fleeting  moments,  if  we 
employ  them  so  as  to  make  them  passports  to  the 
glory  which  is  yet  to  be  revealed.  Our  bodies 
and  our  souls  have  each  of  them  claims  upon  our 
time ;  but  we  must  not  forget  that  God  has  a 
superior  claim.  Every  part  of  the  Christian's 
duty  requires  a  portion  of  time  commensurate 
toxits  nature  and  its  final  consequences,  The  ob- 


(      ±2      ) 

tation  of  praise  is  one  of  our  most  exalted  du- 
ties, and  the  time  necessary  to  its  due  celebra- 
tion will  always  ascend  up  before  God,  as  a  me- 
morial of  our  love  and  gratitude  to  the  author 
and  giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift. 

It  is  impossible  to  apply  any  portions  of  our 
time  to  better  account,  than  those  which  we  spend 
in  the  oblation  of  God's  most  worthy  praise  in 
the  daily  service  of  the  Church.  In  no  act  of  holy 
worship  docs  mortal  man  so  much  resemble  a 
glorified  spirit,  as  when  he  is  engaged  with  all 
his  soul,  with  all  his  strength,  and  with  all  the 
energies  of  his  ear  and  voice,  in  chanting  forth 
the  songs  of  Sion. 

Perhaps  the  objector  thinks,  that  prolonging 
the  time  of  **  setting  forth  God's  most  worthy 
praise"  beyond  the  usual  time  of  reading  it,  may 
prove  an  excuse  for  the  minister's  shortening  his 
sermon  in  proportion.  And  what  if  it  should •? 
Is  sermonizing  a  duty  equal  to  that  of  giving 
glory  to  God  in  the  highest? 

A  sermon  is  not  mentioned,  in  the  exhortation* 
as  one  of  the  enumerated  ends  of  assembling  for 
public  worship;  but,  "to- bear  God's  holy  word, 
and  to  set  forth  his  most  worthy  praise,"  are  par- 
ticularly specified  as  congregational  duties.  To 
each  of  these  there  is  a  time,  as  well  as  a  place  for 
celebration.  And,  if  God's  holy  word  is  precious 
in  our  eyes,  the  time  necessary  to  reading  it  will 
not  appear  tedious ;  and  whensoever  the  appointed 


(   *s   y 

portions  of  it  are  announced  by  the  minister? 
the  language  of  our  affections  will  be,  "  speak* 
Lord,  for  thy  servant  heareth  :"  and  the  time 
requisite  for  H.  setting  forth  the  most  worthy 
praise,"  of  the  God  of  our  salvation,  will  he  time 
profitably  employed,  if,  preparatory  to  the  cele- 
bration of  every  act  of  praise,  our  mental  cogita- 
tions are,  **  O  God,  my  heart  is  ready,  I  will 
sing  and  give  praise;  fork  is  a  good  thing  to  sing 
praises  unto  thy  name,  O  thou  Most  Highest." 

It  may  be  asked — Can  any  portions  of  our 
time  be  more  agreeably,  or  more  profitably  spent;, 
than  in  making  "  a  joyful  noise  before  the  Lord 
the  King — in  singing  psalms  to  his  name — and 
making  his  praise  to  be  glorious  ?"  Let  the  ob- 
jector say, — what  portions  of  time  that  are  spent 
in  this  world  have  so  near  an  alliance  to  the  joyful 
eternity  of  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  in  their 
mansions  of  glory,  as  those,  which  are  employed 
in  presenting  oblations  of  the  sweet-smelling  in- 
cense of  praise  ?  To  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord, 
in  their  abodes  of  bliss,  how  precious  will  those 
portions  of  time  appear,  which,  on  earth,  they 
had  spent  in  the  praises  of  the  author  and 
giver  of  all  their  mercies !  When  the  remem- 
brance of  every  unpleasant  time  or  occurrence 
shall  have  been  erased  from  their  minds,  the  re- 
collection of  their  holy  jubilations  in  the  Church 
militant  will  heighten  their  relish  for  the  halle- 
lujahs of  the  Church  triumphant. 


(  i*  ) 

Seeing  then,  that  God  is  the  giver  of  every 
moment  of  our  time,  how  ill  does  it  become  anr 
of  us  to  speak,  or  even  to  think,  of  too  much 
time  being  spent  in  vocal  acts  of  gratitude  and 
praise  ?  I  say  not,  of  what  temper  of  mind  this 
grudging  of  time,  for  "  setting  forth  the  most 
worthy  praise"  of  the  God  of  our  salvation,  is 
the  index  ,•  but  this  I  say,  a  change  of  heart  and 
affections,  in  the  objector,  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary before  he  be  capable  of  relishing  the  inces- 
sant hallelujahs,  which  are  to  be  chanted  in  the 
triumphant  Church  of  our  Lord,  even  Christy 
u  when  time  shall  be  no  more." 


OBJECTION  VI. 

«  So  great  is  the  difference  between  metre 
psalmody  and  chanting,  that  my  ears  can  neve? 
be  reconciled  to  it." 

REPLY. 

None  of  the  human  senses  is  so  susceptible  of 
prejudices  as  that  of  hearing ;  and  we  are  more 
under  the  influence  of  this  sense  than  that  of  see- 
ing* Hearing  hath  been  called  the  intellectual 
sense,  because  instruction  can  be  communicated  to 
the  mind  more  promptly  by  the  ear  than  by  tlie 


(     ±*     ) 

vehicle  of  all  the  other  senses  put  together.  But 
notwithstanding  the  super-excellency^  of  this 
sense,  it  is  extremely  liable  to  perversion,  and 
when  once  led  astray,  it  is  hard  to  be  corrected, 
as  sounds  are  too  fleeting  to  be  made  the  subjects 
of  examination,  as  the  objects  of  the  other  senses 
are. 

It  were  impossible  for  the  most  erudite  musi- 
cian, by  arguments,  to  convince  a  man  of  a  vitiated 
taste,  that  his  ear  is  corrupted.  Arguments  may 
irritate,  but  can  never  produce  conviction.  If  he 
can  only  be  persuaded  to  give  a  patient  hearing 
to  music  of  a  superior  excellency  than  that  to 
which  his  ear  hath  been  habituated,  the  door  of 
improvement  is  sufficiently  opened;  and  if  it  is 
not  shut  again  by  the  hand  of  peevishness  or  im- 
patience, the  point  is  gained. 

Setting  aside  the  application  of  music  to  reli* 
gious  purposes,  the  ear  sitting  in  judgment  upon  the 
three  sorts  of  music,  namely,  Chanting,  Metre 
Psalmody,  and  Song  Tunes,  would  naturally  de- 
termine in  favour  of  the  latter,  and  estimate  the 
others  according  to  their  similarity  or  dissimila- 
rity to  the*  object  of  its  preference.  And  why  ?  be- 
cause song  music  admits  of  ail  the  curvatures  and 
flexions  which  are  capable  of  exciting  its  tenderest 
sensibilities,  and  of  eliciting  the  energies  of  all 
the  animal  passions ;  the  words  are  pronounced 
witli  their  proper  accents,  emphasis,  and  pauses, 
and  come  to  the  mind  in  sufficiently  quick  succes- 


(     *<5     ) 

sion,  so  as  not  to  keep  it  a  moment  in  suspense  for 
their  meaning. 

The  reasons  why  an  ear  unbiassed  in  favour  of 
metre  music,  would  disapprobate  it,  are,  the  tar- 
diness of  its  sounds,  its  syllabic  dislocations^  and 
its  general  neglect  of  all  accent,  emphasis,  and 
punctuation.  The  time  for  conveying  sentiment  to 
the  mind  in  this  way,  being  so  much  protracted 
beyond  the  time  of  doing  it  in  the  ordinary  course 
of  reading  or  speaking,  would  infallibly  produce 
impatience,  and  impatience  disgust. 

In  forming  a  judgment  upon  the  merits  or 
demerits  of  chanting,  the  disinterested  ear  would 
hesitate  and  deliberate ;  and  without  deciding  at 
a  first  hearing,  would  say  to  the  plaintiff,  "  I 
would  hear  thee  again.** 

And  verily  this  seems  to  have  been  the  case 
with  many  of  the  first  converts  to  Christianity. 
Several  of  the  ancient  Fathers  inform  us,  that  ido- 
laters frequented  the  Christian  assemblies,  some 
as  spies,  others  out  of  mere  curiosity,  to  hear  the 
Christians'  doctrine,  or  to  hear  their  music.  With 
the  amiableness  and  rationality  of  the  one,  some 
were  delighted;  with  the  simplicity,, novelty,  and 
grandeur  of  the  other,  multitudes  were  so  cap- 
tivated, that  they  thought  favourably  of  the  God 
to  whom  it  was  addressed,  and  desired  to  be  en- 
rolled in  the  number  of  catechumens  before 
they  departed.  AVhat  first  captivated  their  ear* 
?ic-st  captivated  their  hearts. 


(     47     ) 

May  I  be  permitted  to  ask,  "  Is  it  probable 
that  our  modern  syllabic  psalmody  would  produce 
similar  effects  upon  Indians  with-  good  ears 
and  honest  intentions  ?  Dr.  Burney,  that  able 
judge  of  music,  and  discerner  of  its  natural 
operation  on  the  human  mind,  affirms,  that  "  iso- 
chronous metre  psalmody  is  more  likely  to  drive 
Christians  with  good  ears  out  of  the  church,  than 
to  draw  pagans  with  good  ears  into  it."* 

It  is  natural  for  every  person  to  prefer  metre 
music  to  prosaic,  because  eustom  will  always 
advocate  whatever  is  habitual ;  and  because  the 
one  is  congenial  with  song  tunes,  and  the  other 
has  nothing  in  its  composition  or  character  of  a 
secular  nature.  There  exists  such  a  reciprocity 
©f  alliance  between  metre  psalmody  and  song 
music,  that  every  metre  psalm  or  hymn  may  be 
sung  to  a  song  tune  of  the  same  measure  with 
itself;  and  every  song  may  be  sung  to  a  metre 
psalm  tune  of  a  measure  equivalent  to  its  own. 
The  quickness  or  the  slowness,  called  the  time 
of  the  music,  has  no  interference  with  the  mea- 
sure of  the  bars  in  either  case. 

The  natural  ear  is  no  more  a  competent  judge 

*  History  of  Music,  vol.  ii.  note  to  p.  7. 

Dr.  Beattie  says,  "  It  seems  as  decent,  at  least,  to  imitate  the 
Roman  Catholics  as  the  Mahometans ;  and  jet,  we  (Presbyterians) 
seem  to  have  imitated  the  laUer,  in  banishing  from  our  chinches 
aU  mu>ic,  at  least  all  good  music  ;  that  whhh  weha\e  retained  i>eing 
in  general  so  very  bad,  that  it  is  necessary  for  a  person  to  have  a 
bad  ear,  before  he  can  relish  the  worship  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land." 

Stir  JVilliam  Forbes's  Life  of  Dr.  Beatie,  p.  98. 


(     *8     ) 

of  what  species  of  music  is  exclusively  commen- 
surate to  "  the  most  worthy  praise"  of  Jehovah, 
than  the  natural  man  is  capable  of  discerning 
the  cniri'ualities  of  his  divine  essence.  Judg- 
ing from  the  mere  animal  pleasure,  which  the  ear 
receives  from  sounds,  a  person  would  as  natu- 
rally dislike  the  music  of  "  the  song  of  Mosc9 
and  the  Lamb,"  as  he  disapprobates  the  prosaic 
psalmody  of  the  Church.  Such  false  guides  are 
our  human  likings  and  dislikings,  that,  whilst 
they  profess  to  be  «  lights  to  our  feet,  and  lan- 
terns to  our  paths,'*  they  frequently,  to  our  shame 
and  mortification,  prove  themselves  to  be  as  de- 
lusive as  the  wandering  fires  of  the  dreary  desert. 
That  the  public  ear  is  extremely  vitiated, 
many  and  cogent  proofs  might  be  adduced.  Is  not 
the  infinite  number  of  metre  tunes  in  circulation 
one  proof  of  the  alleged  fact  ?  Is  not  the  fre- 
quent changing  of  one  tune  for  another  in  endless 
succession  another  proof?  And  as  it  is  a  proof 
that  the  stomach  of  a  man  is  deranged,  when  it 
loathes  its  accustomed  food,  and  with  impatience 
craves  an  unusual  variety;  so  it  is  an  equally 
certain  proof,  that  the  ear  of  a  churchman  is 
greatly  vitiated,  when  he  nauseates  the  musical 
dainties  of  his  Father's  house,  and  with  insatia- 
ble appetite  craves  the  exotic  fruits  which  were 
originally  produced  in  the  garden  of  his  adversa- 
ry? Is  it  a  symptom  of  a  healthy  ear,  to  reject 
the  genuine  music  of  the  Mother  Church,  and 


(     *9     ). 

\o  attach   itself  to  that  of  the  Meeting-house 
and  the  Conventicle  ? 

But  when  we  affect,  that,  as  Christians,  "  we 
are  not  of  the  world,"  and  that  it  is  meet  and 
right,  and  our  bounden  duty,  "  to  have  our  con- 
versation in  heaven  f9  it  becomes  evidently  pro- 
per, that  all  our  acts  of  religious  worship  should 
be  stamped  with  such  prominent  marks  of  cha- 
racter, as  may  best  serve  to  discriminate  them 
from  every  tiling  of  a  secular  nature.  The  sacred 
declarations,  "  my  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world 
— ye  are  not  of  this  world;"  the  apostolic  injunc- 
tion, "  be  not  conformed  to  this  world;"  and  many 
other  texts  of  a  similar  import,  unitedly  lead 
us  to  think,  that,  as  the  structure  of  the  several 
offices  of  our  religion  is  radically  different  from 
that  of  all  associate  or  political  formularities, 
the  psalmodic  parts  of  those  offices  should  be  as 
much  discriminated  from  secular  music,  as  the 
music  of  the  temple  differed  from  that  of  idola- 
trous nations.  And  this  is  really  the  case  5  for 
all  the  appointed  psalms  and  hymns  of  our  pub- 
lic worship  are  wholly  incommensurate  to  secu- 
lar music.  Between  the  condition  of  prose  and 
that  of  verse,  there  is  no  more  alliance  than  there 
is  between  the  condition  of  a  freeman  and  that 
of  a  slave.*    The  psalms  and  hymns  of  our  holy 


*  According  to  Cicero  (pro  Poeta  Archia)  liberie  ped<s,  free  feet, 
denote  prose;  and  vincti  pedes,  chained  feet,  characterize  poetn 

or  verse. 

E 


(    so    ) 

offices  are  as  dissimilar  to  the  secularized  psalms 
of  the  poets  and  the  songs  of  the  world,  as  the 
kingdom  of  our  Lord,  even  Christ,  is  unlike  to 
any  of  the  transient  governments  of  this  perish- 
ahle  earth. 


OBJECTION  VII. 

"  As  I  have  neither  voice  nor  ear  for  music, 
if  chanting  be  admitted  into  our  Church,  I  shall 
be  deprived  of  the  benefit,  which  I  derive  from 
responsive  reading." 

REPLY. 

This  objection  is  altogether  selfish  $  for  the 
whole  extent  of  it  is  bounded  by  personal  im- 
perfection. It  is  also  unfounded  on  fact;  for 
every  person  who  can  articulate  words,  hath  his 
equal  share  in  the  psalmodic  offices,  whether  they 
are  sung  or  said,  as  chanting  is  nothing  else  than 
musical  reading.  When  the  appointed  psalms 
and  hymns  are  sung,  a  person  who  is  unable  to 
join  in  "  the  more  excellent  way"  of  chanting 
them,  may  still  pronounce  every  word  with  the 
same  accent,  emphasis,  and  sound  of  voice, 
which  he  uses  in  reading  them  responsively— only 
a  little  slower,    «  The  change  of  the  voice  in 


(     51     ) 

L-hanting  a  psalm  or  hymn  is  so  small  and  natu- 
ral, lhat  every  person  is  able  to  join  in  it;  and 
yet  it  is  sufficient  to  raise  and  keep  up  the  glad- 
ness of  our  hearts."* 

The  psalmody  of  the  Church  is  calculated  to 
benefit  every  member  thereof:  it  belongs  to 
every  individual  alike,  whether  he  sings  or  says 
it.  And  it  is  the  duty  of  every  one  to  prepare 
himself,  by  all  the  means  in  his  power,  to  offer 
his  oblation  of  praise  "  with  great  gladness."  If 
the  devout  unmusical  worshipper  only  reads  those 
acts  of  praise,  whilst  others,  endued  with  ear 
and  voice,  sing  them,  the  rubric  is  obeyed,  and 
the  words  of  the  psalmist  accord  with  the  united 
exertion  of  the  reader  and  the  singer,  "  I  will 
sing,  and  speak  praises  unto  the  Lord :"  for 
"  God  accepteth  according  to  what  a  man  hath, 
and  not  according  to  what  he  hath  not." 

There  are  some  who  say  that  God  hath  not 
given  them  a  voice ;  and  others,  that  they  have 
not  ear  sufficient  to  distinguish  one  tune  from  an- 
other. This  deficiency  in  grown  up  persons  is 
to  be  ascribed  rather  to  a  neglect  of  cultivating 
their  portion  of  voice  and  ear  during  their 
younger  years,  than  to  any  original  defect  in  their 
musical  organs  :  For,  where  is  the  person  to  be 
found,  who  doth  not  use  a  varied  intonation  in 
speaking  ?     And  who  is  he,  that  hath  got  ears 

*  Law's  Serious  Call,  eh.  15, 


(      52     ) 

to  hear,  who  cannot  distinguish  articulate  iroui 
inarticulate  sounds?  When  those  persons,  who 
say,  they  have  no  voice  nor  ear  for  music,  happen 
to  he  actuated  by  the  passions  of  wrath,  envy, 
hatred,  revenge,  or  by  any  other  unruly  affec- 
tions of  the  mind ;  or  when  they  are  surrounded 
•with  tranquillity,  or  exhilarated  with  joy  ;  how 
readily  are  their  voices  harmonized  to  either  of 
these  conditions,  and  their  words  uttered  with 
a  corresponding  intonation !  Whether  a  person 
thinks  of  it  or  not,  every  sentence  which  he  ut- 
ters is  accompanied  with  a  musical  intonation. 
Monotony  is  not  natural  to  man ;  diversified  in- 
tonation is  a  part  of  his  birthright. 

True  it  is,  the  apostaey  of  our  primeval  pa- 
rents debased  the  divine  similitude,  but  did  not 
entirely  deface  it.  Sin  disordered,  but  did  not 
destroy  our  endowments  of  body  and  mind.  Sin 
has  disharmonized  our  affections,  and  relaxed  or 
overstrained  the  goodly  strings  of  our  intellec- 
tual harp.  Every  propensity  of  heart  which  was 
once  in  perfect  unison  with  the  divine  will,  is 
iiow  in  a  state  of  partial  discord.  We  need  not 
wonder  then,  if  the  ears  and  voices  of  some  of 
our  species  are  in  a  state  of  unmusical  intona- 
tion. 

During  his  state  of  innocence,  all  the  parts  of 
creation  were  propitious  to  man ;  but  in  our  state 
of  guilt,  the  very  elements  wage  continual  war 
with  us,  and  our  powers,  both  of  body  and  mind. 


(     S3     ) 

are  astonishingly  under  their  influence.  All  the 
corporeal  senses  are  subjected  to  the  power  of 
atmospheric  influence,  but  none  of  them  so  much 
as  the  celestial  ones  of  seeing  and  hearing.  The 
voice  and  the  ear  of  man  arc  susceptible  either 
of  deterioration  or  of  amelioration,  in  proportion 
as  the  temperament  of  the  atmosphere  is  propi- 
tious or  unfavourable  to  the  nervous  system. 

If  then,  the  most  perfect  organs  of  musical  ar- 
ticulation are  susceptible  of  change,  either  into 
a  better,  or  into  a  worse  state,  in  consequence  of 
the  operation  of  external  causes,  why  may  it  not 
be  admitted,  that  less  perfect  organs  may  be  im- 
proved by  art  and  industry  ?  and  however  para- 
doxical it  may  seem  to  say,  that  "  such  an  one 
hath  created  for  himself  a  portion  of  voice  and 
ear;"  yet,  in  some  sense,  the  fact  is  undeniable  : 
for  what  difficulty  is  there  so  great,  that  perse- 
verance cannot  surmount?  or  what  obstruction 
so  fixed,  that  patience  cannot  remove  ? 

"  Unto  every  one  of  us,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  is 
given  grace,  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift 
of  Christ."  In  like  manner  it  may  be  said,  unto 
every  one  of  us  is  given  a  certain  measure  of  the 
gift  of  musical  utterance,  according  to  the  mea- 
sure of  the  gift  of  Christ — to  some,  in  the  pro- 
portion of  ten  talents ;  to  others,  that  of  five ;  and 
to  a  few,  in  that  of  only  one.  Let  the  man  or  the 
w  oman,  to  whom  God  hath  seen  proper  to  bestow 
but  one  portion  of  his  musical  gift,  beware  of 


(     5i      ) 

topping  the  example  of  that  servant  who  received 
but  one  talent,  lest  for  a  similar  neglect,  he  fall 
into  a  similar  condemnation.  The  same  Apostle 
also  teacheth  us,  that,  "  the  manifestation  of  the 
spirit  is  given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal/" 
Every  gift  is  given  for  improvement,  applica- 
tion, and  use ;  and  it  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to 
be  corroded  with  the  rust  of  neglect,  nor  be  per- 
verted to  unprofitable  or  hurtful  purposes.  When 
human  talents  are  consecrated  to  the  glory  of  the 
giver,  God  is  honoured  by  his  own  gifts,  and  man's 
happiness  is  promoted* 

Persons  unendowed  with  a  musical  measure  of 
ear  and  voice,  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  under  the 
same  obligations  to  "  make  Jehovah's  praise  to  be 
glorious,"  as  those  who  are  possessed  of  them. 
But  can  it  be  imagined  that  the  mode  of  celebrat- 
ing the  offices  of  religion,  ought  to  be  adapted, 
rather  to  the  absence  of  talent,  than  to  the  pos- 
session of  it  ?  This  were  putting  a  negative  upon 
every  exertion  of  voice  and  ear,  and  virtually  pro- 
hibiting those  persons  who  do  possess  them,  from 
employing  them  in  the  Donor's  service :  it  were  a 
denuding  them  of  the  privilege  of  presenting  an 
oblation  to  which  they  are  competent,  and  which 
ihey  had  prepared  to  offer  with  great  gladness. 

On  the  supposition  that  the  manner  of  per- 
forming the  psalmody  of  the  Church,  ought  to  be 
adapted  to  the  measure  of  imperfection,  and  not 
io  that  of  qualification,  the  gifts  of  voice  and  cav 


(     6S     ) 

iiiivc  been  bestowed  to  no  salutary  purpose  ;  the 
word  sung,  ought  to  be  expunged  from  the  ru- 
brics ;  and  the  minister,  in  compliment  to  one  or 
two  deaf  persons,  ought  to  speak  so  loud  as  to 
stun  the  rest  of  his  congregation. 

The  extent  of  talent  and  improvement  is  cer- 
tainly a  just  weight  and  measure,  for  the  regula- 
tion of  every  thing  belonging  to  the  sanctuary. 
The  widow's  mite  of  brass  or  copper,  was  as  ac- 
ceptable as  the  rich  man's  talent  of  gold  or  sil- 
ver :  but  it  afforded  no  argument  for  reducing  the 
offerings  of  the  rich  to  an  equality  with  those  of 
the  poor;  nor  did  the  widow  think  of  with- 
holding her  mite,  because  she  was  unable  to 
give  a  talent.  In  like  manner,  the  person  who 
is  unable  to  sing  as  a  leader,  may  sing  as  a 
follower;  and  he  whose  voice  and  ear  do  not 
qualify  him  to  sing  an  upper  part,  may  unite 
with  a  lower  one. 

AVith  no  niggardly  hand  does  God  dispense  his 
gift$  to  the  children  of  men;  and  the  difference 
between  the  endowments  of  one  person  and  those 
of  another,  is  occasioned  principally  by  a  higher 
degree  of  application  and  perseverance  in  the  one 
than  in  the  other. 

Observe  the  persevering  ingenuity  of  man 
displayed  in  his  improvements  in  the  arts  and 
sciences— in  every  thing  that  promises  honour, 
pleasure,  or  profit.  Observe  the  sedentary  scholar 
poring  over  his  books,  drinking  knowledge  at 


C     56     ) 

every  fountain  of  learning;  the  contemplative 
philosopher  contriving,  and  the  ingenious  artizan 
constructing  glasses  for  ameliorating  the  sight, 
and  tubes  to  aid  the  ear  that  is  obtuse.  And 
shall  little  or  no  exertions  be  made  in  cultivating 
the  human  voice  and  the  hearing  ear,  to  render 
them  capable  of  performing  in  the  best  manner 
possible,  the  office  for  which  they  were  created  ? 

Open  the  pages  of  history,  and  you  will  read 
what  incredible  pains  the  singers  on  the  ancient 
theatres  took  to  improve  and  retain  their  voices; 
and  by  report  we  learn,  how  careful  the  modern 
stage  singers  are  in  improving  and  retaining 
theirs. 

And  who  will  say  that  the  theatre  has  a  higher 
claim  to  improved  voices,  than  the  church?  Is 
any  sort  of  music  good  enough  for  the  worship  of 
Almighty  God,  and  none  too  excellent  for  the  se- 
minaries of  scenic  fiction?  During  the  times  of 
idolatry,  the  best  of  the  spoils  were  always  pre- 
sented to  Jupiter  Maximus,  and,  at  the  present 
time,  the  most  improved  voiees  are  no  where  to 
be  found,  but  in  scenic  temples,  the  still  appro- 
bated relicts  of  paganism ! 

Were  the  hundredth  part  of  the  pains  taken  in 
tutoring  the  voice  for  the  purpose  of  glorifying 
God,  which  is  taken  by  scenic  performers,  for 
the  purpose  of  desecrating  man,  our  churches 
would  be  so  many  perfect  choirs,  full  of  the 
praise,  the  glory,  and  the  blessing  of  God.    Nay, 


•(      57     ) 

were  half  the  pains  which  are  taken  in  teaching 
a  parrot  to  sing,  or  a  magpie  to  speak,  bestowed 
upon  the  smallest  portion  of  human  voice  and  ear, 
especially  at  an  early  period  of  life,  they  might  he 
improved  to  a  degree  far  surpassing  expectation. 
If  God  were  more  frequently  in  our  thoughts,  and 
gratitude  for  his  mercies  more  fervent  in  our 
hearts,  our  mouths  would  he  more  full  of  his 
praises,  and  we  should  hear  no  complaints  of  the 
want  of  voice  and  ear.  If  the  soul  vehemently 
longed  after  God,  and  thirsted  after  celestial  joys, 
as  the  hart  panteth  for  the  cooling  stream,  the 
voice  for  praise  would  not  he  wanting,  nor  would 
any  one  complain  that  he  had  no  ear  for  the 
music  of  the  sanctuary. 

He,  who  is  really  unahle  to  join  with  any  of 
the  upper  parts  of  a  chorus,  may  always  unite 
with  the  fundamental  one.  A  consciousness  of  not 
being  able  to  praise  God  as  a  leader,  ought  not  to 
prevent  one  singing  as  a  follower.  Only  let  him 
take  care  that  his  voice  be  kept  in  due  subordina- 
tion; let  him  "  of  (he  ability  which  God  giveih" 
sing  as  well  as  he  can,  or  even  (if  he  can  do  no 
better,)  speak  the  psalms  and  hymns  of  the 
Church,  he  participates  in  the  oblation  of  the 
general  jubilee  of  praise.  If  he  do  not  sing  ov 
speak  too  loud,  the  rotundity  of  the  bass  will 
always  prove  a  sufficient  covering  to  his  voice, 
and  prevent  any  sensible  discord.  Under  the 
bass,  as  a  musical  umbrella,  he  may  go  on  hh 


(     58     ) 

way  rejoicing  in  the  grace  of  bis  God,  and  in 
the  power  of  his  might,  "  making  a  joyful  noise 
before  the  Lord  the  King." 

If  his  voice  yields  no  novelty  to  gratify  the  ears 
of  his  fellow-worshippers,  his  heart  may  make 
as  perfect  "  melody  to  the  Lord,"  as  the  heart  of 
those  who  display  the  iinest  powers  of  voice  and 
ear. 

"  Let  every  thing  that  hath  breath  praise  the 
Lord,"  according  to  the  law  of  its  nature ;  and 
every  human  being  magnify  his  glorious  name, 
"  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gifts  of  Christ" 
conferred  upon  him. 


OBJECTION  VIII. 

"  I  am  too  old,  and  it  is  too  much  trouble  to 
learn  to  chant." 

REPLY. 

If  the  objector  hath  not  learned  metre  psal- 
mody in  his  younger  years,  it  were  unreasonable 
to  expect  that  he  should  learn  prosaic  music  at  an 
advanced  period.  Every  person,  who  hath 
learned  to  sing  metre  tunes  by  following  the  or- 
gan cr  chorister,  may,  in  the  same  way,  and  with 
equal  facility,  become  acquainted  with  chanting, 


(     53      ) 

The  chants  are  few  in  number,  and  to  any  ear, 
capable  of  musical  discrimination,  there  can  be 
no  great  difficulty  in  becoming  acquainted  with 
them,  as  they  are  stationary,  the  same  chant 
being  sung  to  the  same  psalm  or  hymn,  however 
often  it  occurs. 

There  is  in  man  a  natural  indolence,  which  i» 
apt  to  increase  with  his  years,  and  strengthen  with 
his  age.  In  the  affairs  of  religion,  this  indolence 
is  not  only  intrusive,  but  very  operative;  and 
then  we  call  it  by  another  name — «  the  infirmity 
of  our  mortal  nature." 

A  want  of  resolution  to  perform  our  Christian 
duty  discovers  itself  in  a  variety  of  ways.  It 
pleads  excuses  for**  doing  those  things  which  we 
ought  not  to  have  done,"  and  also  for  neglecting 
to  "  do  those  things  which  we  ought  to  have  done." 
It  is  eloquent  in  defending  the  omission  of  every 
tiling  in  public  worship,  that  is  unfashionable,  or 
in  any  measure  troublesome  to  flesh  and  blood. 
Whatever  trouble  attends  the  purchasing  of  a  field, 
or  a  yoke  of  oxen,  or  any  other  article  of  mer- 
chandize ;  whatever  inconvenience  or  fatigue  at- 
tends the  going  to  such  a  city,  or  to  such  a  place, 
toy  land,  or  by  water,  for  the  purpose  of  buying 
or  selling,  in  order  to  get  gain,  are  readily 
surmounted ;  but  the  trouble  of  learning  to  sing 
the  constituent  hymns  of  public  worship,  though 
few  in  number,  and  extremely  accessible  to  the 
ear,  is  said  to  be  too  great ! 


(    eo    ) 

Not  to  those  whose  shadows  are  like  the  sha- 
dows of  the  evening,  but  to  those  who  are  hut  a 
little  past  the  meridian  of  their  days,  do  I  address 
this  paragraph.  Remember,  and  forget  not,  I 
Jjeseech  you,  that  he  in  whose  service  ye  are  em- 
ployed, did  not  think  it  too  much  trouble  to  exert 
his  utmost  stretch  of  voice,  in  prayer  upon  the 
cross  for  you ;  and  now  in  glory  neglects  not  to 
mention  your  names  among  those  for  whom  his 
intercession  is  continued. 

Granting,  objector,  that  thou  art  somewhat 
advanced  in  life,  and  that  thou  art  well  practised 
in  praising  God  with  measures  of  human  contri- 
vance ;  let  me  ask  at  what  age  is  a  person  too  old 
to  praise  him  in  forms  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath 
dictated?  Be  assured,  that  however  much  ad- 
vantage thou  derivest  from  the  use  of  a  species  of 
psalmody,  which  is  only  of  human  devising,  thou 
wilt  experience  a  great  deal  more  from  a  psal- 
mody which  hath  the  Holy  Spirit  for  its  editor. 

By  devoting  a  small  portion  of  thy  attention 
to  the  genuine  psalmody  of  the  Church  militant, 
when  thou  shalt  have  joined  the  society  of  the 
Church  triumphant,  thou  wilt  perceive  that,  by 
anticipation,  thou  hadst  verily  antedated  the  hal- 
lelujahs of  the  celestial  choirs. 


(  **  ) 


\ 


OBJECTION  IX. 

%i  Let  chanting  be  omitted  during  our  life-time 
^say  some  aged  persons),  and  when  we  are  gone 
hence,  let  our  posterity  accept  ©r  reject  it,  as 
*hey  please." 

REPLY. 

Such  would  be  the  effect  of  this  objection,  were 
it  once  admitted,  that  the  Church  would  continue 
destitute  of  a  musical  accompaniment  to  God's 
■«  most  worthy  praise,"  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world. 

Had  the  objectors,  in  the  days  of  their  youth* 
been  acquainted  with  prosaic  psalmody,  at  the 
.present  time  they  would  have  made  no  opposition 
to  it.  This  is  a  virtual  inference  from  their  of- 
fering no  objections  to  their  posterity's  adopting 
it.  But,  it  ought  to  be  remembered,  that  cathe- 
dral music  is  verily  a  part  of  exery  churchman's 
inheritance,  and  that  he  cannot  voluntarily  con- 
tinue a  divestment  thereof,  without  taking  part 
with  those  adversaries  of  the  Church  who  first 
effected  it. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  moderation  of  senior  years 
will  permit  the  objectors  to  be  informed,  or  re- 
minded, if  they  know  it  already,  that,  next  to  the 
order  of  the  priesthood,  nothing  characteristic 
F 


(    »    ) 

«f  tlie  Episcopal  Church  was,  during  the  reign 
of  puritanism,  more  vigorously  assailed,  and 
more  ably  defended,  than  the  usage  which  I  am 
advocating.  What  was  precious  in  the  eves  of 
those  defenders  of  primitive  truth  and  order, 
ought  to  be  no  less  so  in  ours.  Those  Fathers  in 
Christ  have  set  the  copy,  and  it  well  becomes 
us  to  write  after  so  fair  a  pattern.  A  compliance 
with  the  example  of  our  ecclesiastical  fathers 
and  brethren  will  take  no  oxen  out  of  the  ob- 
jector's stalls,  nor  sheep  out  of  their  folds.  It  is 
capable  of  doing  them  good,  and  incapable  of 
doing  them  evil. 

In  no  stage  of  life  does  the  obligation  cease 
"  to  set  forth  God's  most  worthy  praise;"  it  be- 
ing a  duty  incumbent  upon  *  young  men  and 
maidens,  old  men  and  children,  to  praise  the 
name  of  the  Lord ;  for  his  name  only  is  excel- 
lent, and  his  praise  above  heaven  and  earth." 

In  the  words  of  the  psalmist,  the  objectors 
themselves  acknowledge  that  "  it  is  a  good  thing 
to  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  and  to  sing  praises 
unto  the  name  of  the  Most  Highest."  Now,  if  it 
is  a  good  thing  to  do  so  at  one  time  of  life,  it  is 
equally  so  at  another.  And  if  the  objectors  are 
not  singers,  or  have  lost  all  animal  pleasure  in 
hearing  **  the  voices  of  singing  men  and  sing- 
ing women,"  it  becomes  highly  unreasonable 
in  them  to  desire  the  juniors  of  a  congregation 
lo  rofrain  from  singing  the  appointed  psalms  and 


C     63     ) 

hymns  of  the  Church,  merely  because  they  have 
uo  relish  for  such  performances. 

However  much  the  active  and  passive  (i  daugh- 
ters of  music"  in  aged  persons*  maybe  obstruct- 
ed in  their  respective  functions,  and  the  com- 
plaint of  good  old  Barzillai  be  renewed;!  surely 
no  person  will  admit  that  this  is  a  sufficient  rea 
son  for  ordering,  or  even  requesting,  «  the  chil- 
dren" (the  juniors)  acclaiming  in  the  temple 
(the  church),  and  saying,  "  Hosannah  to  the  Sow 
of  David,"  to  hold  their  peace.  li\  every  period 
both  of  the  Levitical  and  Evangelical  dispensa- 
tions, our  Lord's  prediction  in  the  2d  verse  of 
the  8th  Psalm,  and  its  application  recorded  in 
the  16th  verse  of  21st  chapter  of  St.  Matthew's 
Gospel,  has  been  verified:  "  Out  of  the  mouth 
of  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast  perfected 
praise."  It  is  a  circumstance  worthy  of  remark, 
that  in  every  church  where  psalmody  is  culti- 
vated, the  music  of  the  sanctuary  has  derived 
its  principal  support  from  the  juniors  of  the 
community,  particularly  from  the  female  juniors 
of  the  congregation. 

If  the  Apostles,  who  were  by  the  immediate 
agency    of  the    Holy    Spirit   "  guided  unto  all 

*  Quie  cantante  voluntas, 
Sit  licet  eximius  cithanedus,  sieve  Seleueus, 
E.t  quibus  auratd  mos  estfulgere  lacerna  ? 

Juvenal's  Sat.  X.  line  210 
What  music,  or  enchanting  voice,  can  cheer 
A  stupid,  old,  impenetrable  ear? 

Brvdcn. 
f  2  Sam.  xix.  35. 


c  *  > 

truth,"  had  not  considered  prosaic  psalmody  as 
the  true  and  proper  manner  of  celebrating  the 
greatness,  goodness,  mercy,  and  love  of  God, 
they  would  not  have  inlroduced  it  into  all  the 
churches  which  they  planted ;  nor  would  their 
successors,  in  every  part  of  the  Christian  world, 
even  to  the  present  time,  have  been  so  tenacious 
«f  it. 

The  hallelujahs  of  the  choirs  surrounding 
the  throne  of  God,  as  transmitted  to  us,  and  no 
doubt  for  our  imitation,  by  the  beloved  disciple 
who  in  vision  saw  the  choristers  and  heard  their 
performance,  are  all  in  prosaic  diction,  and  ad- 
mit of  ! being  sung  in  no  other  way  than  that 
whose  cause  I  plead. 

The  apostolic  manner  of  "  setting  forth  God's 
most  worthy  praise,"  whilst  we  sojourn  in  his 
militant  Church  upon  earth,  will  prove  to  be  an 
anticipation  of  the  celestial  hallelujahs  of  the 
Church  triumphant;  and  the  more  we  practise 
the  one  here,  (he  better  we  shall  relish  the  other 
hereafter.  It  is  a  debt  that  we  owe  to  God  and 
o  ourselves,  that  our  oblations  of  praise  on  this 
ti r'c  the  grave  be  similar  to  those  of  glorified 
its  and  angels  in  (he  realms  of  bliss  eternal. 


(     65     ) 


OBJECTION  X. 


«  Chanting  is  a  hindrance  to  devotion/ * 


REPLY. 

If  a  zeal  without  knowledge  is  to  be  found  in 
some  persons,  it  is  allowable  to  suppose  that  a 
devotion  without  knowledge  may  possibly  accom- 
pany it.     Devotion,  like  conscience,  depends  so 
much  upon  antecedent  knowledge,  in  connection 
with  constitutional  feelings,    that   we  are  very 
apt  to  suffer  our  prejudices  to  assume  the  cha- 
racter of  devotion,  especially  if  we  are  more  in- 
fluenced by  the  mechanism,  than  by  the  spirit 
•of  our  religious  services.     Hence  it  is,  that  in 
some  persons,  devotion  is  interrupted  by  the  mi- 
nister's  mistaking  one   word   for    another,    by 
omitting  one  of  the  collects,  or  by  violating  any 
of  the  rules  of  good  reading,  whilst  he  is  offer- 
ing up  the  prayers,  or  reading  the  lessons.    This 
fastidiousness  is  highly  inimical  to  devotion,  as. 
it  places  the  person  who  is  troubled  with  it,  in 
the  condition,  not  of  a  meek  and  humble  wor- 
shipper, but  in  that  of  a  snarling  critic  or  a  jea- 
lous observer.      The  same  fastidiousness  tends 
to  produce  a  prejudice  against  ameliorating  the 
manner  of  performing  any  part  of  the  public 
services,  and  constitutes  the  basis  whereon  the 
t* 


(     66     ) 

objection  to  chanting  is  reared.  With  truedevo 
lion,  this  principle  has  no  connection.  True 
devotion  is  of  too  spiritual  a  nature  to  be  inter- 
rupted by  those  expedients,  which  persons,  free 
from  prejudice,  have  in  every  age  of  the  world 
experienced  to  be  its  best  auxiliaries.  And,  if 
we  give  any  credit  to  the  testimony  in  favour  of 
ehanting,  which  has  been  given  by  some  of  the 
most  devout  and  learned  Fathers  of  the  Church, 
we  must  either  subscribe  to  their  sentiment,  or 
acknowledge  that  our  devotion  is  of  a  different 
east  from  theirs. 

Chanting  is  so  far  from  being  injurious  to  devo- 
tion, that  it  is  really  propitious  to  it;  just  as  the 
harmony  of  regulated  sounds  tends  to  tranquillize 
the  mind  more  than  a  discordant  buz,  or  a  his- 
sing whisper.  Order  is  infinitely  more  subser- 
vient to  devotion  than  disorder.  In  ehanting, 
the  voices  are  in  order ;  but  in  responsive  read- 
ing, they  are  in  disorder;  for  every  one  uses 
whatever  pitch  of  voice  he  pleases*  and  perhaps 
not  two  persons  in  any  congregation  respond  with 
the  same  intonation.  To  an  observant  ear,  the 
general  mass  of  response  is  extremely  discor- 
dant* and  offensive;  and  however  custom  may 
have  so  far  reconciled  us  to  it,  as  not  to  think  of 
its  mechanical  effect,  yet  undoubtedly  it  has  its 


*  According  to  the  authors  who  have  written  on  the  extent  and 
properties  of  the  human  voice,  one  note  is  capable  of  being  divided 
into  10,000  distinguishable  sounds. 


(     67     ) 

operation  on  our  minds  as  well  as  on  our  ears. 
And  this  operation  cannot  be  a  beneficial  one ; 
it  tends  to  lull  the  mind  into  a  stupor  of  indiffer- 
ence, and  to  preclude  every  intellectual  and  cor- 
poreal exertion.  Indeed,  this  is  the  natural  effect 
of  all  discords  produced  upon  a  bass  key;  and 
therefore  reading  the  psalms  and  hymns  on  a  bass 
ground  can  never  give  that  animation  and  vigour 
to  devotion,  which  both  the  ancient  and  modern 
Fathers  of  the  Church  ascribe  to  chanting. 

As  evidence  is  more  conclusive  than  reasonings 
on  the  point  before  us,  I  shall  present  the  reader 
with  a  few  quotations  from  the  early  Fathers, 
to  show  how  highly  they  approbated  the  usage 
of  chanting. 

Clemens  Alexandrinus  has  this  remarkable 
passage,  alluding  to  the  Church  and  its  music : 
»'  This  is  the  chosen  mountain  of  the  Lord, 
unlike  Citharon,  which  has  furnished  subjects 
for  tragedy.  It  is  dedicated  to  truth;  a  moun- 
tain of  greater  purity,  overspread  with  chaste 
shades.  It  is  inhabited  by  the  daughters  of  God, 
the  fair  lambs,  who  celebrate  together  the  vene- 
rable orgies,  collecting  the  chosen  choir.  The 
singers  are  holy  men  ;  their  song  is  the  hymn  of 
the  Almighty  King.  Virgius  chant,  Angels  glo- 
rify, Prophets  discourse,  whilst  music  sweetly 
sounding  is  heard."* 

*  Bishop  of  Alexandria  about  the  vear  200,  "  Admonitio  ad 
gentes,"    Oxford,  1715. 


(     68     ) 

Eusebius,*  treating  of  the  consecration  of 
churches  throughout  the  Roman  empire,  in 
the  time  of  Constantine  the  first  Christian  Em- 
peror, says,  «  There  is  one  common  consent  in 
chanting  forth  the  praises  of  God.  The  perform- 
ance of  the  service  is  exact,  the  rites  of  the 
Church  are  solemn  and  majestic ;  and  a  place  is 
appointed  for  those  who  sing  the  psalms  ,*  youths 
and  virgins,  old  men  and  young." 

Chrysostomf  says,  «  All  Christians  exercise 
themselves  in  David's  Psalms  oftener  than  in  any 
other  part  of  the  Old  or  New  Testament.  The 
grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  so  ordered  it,  that 
ihey  should  be  recited  or  chanted  night  and  day. 

<(  In  the  Church's  vigils,  the  first,  the  midst, 
and  the  last,  are  David's  Fsalms.  In  the  morn- 
ing, David's  Psalms  are  sought  for ;  and  the  first, 
the  midst,  and  the  last,  is  David.  At  funeral 
solemnities,  the  first,  the  midst,  and  the  last,  is 
David.  In  private  houses,  where  the  virgins 
spin,  the  first,  the  midst,  and  the  last,  is  David. 
Many,  who  know  not  a  letter,  can  say  David's 
Psalms  by  heart.  In  the  monasteries,  the  choirs 
of  heavenly  hosts,  the  first,  the  midst,  and .  the 
last,  is  David.  In  the  deserts,  where  men,,  who 
have  crucified  the  world  to  themselves,  and.  con- 
verse with  God,  the  first,  the  midst,  and  the 
last,    is  David.     In  the  night,    when  men  are 

*  Bishop  of  Csesarea  in  513. 

t  Archbishop  of  Constantinople  in  403— in  his.  sixth  Homily  on 
Penitence. 


(     69     ) 

asleep,  David  wakes  them  up  to  sing ;  and  ga- 
thering the  servants  of  God  into  angelic  troops, 
turns  earth  into  heaven,  and  makes  angels  of 
mcu  chanting  David's  Psalms." 

Such  was  the  discipline  under  which  the  pri- 
mitive Christians  was  educated,  that  religion  was 
instilled  into  their  minds  at  an  early  age ;  it  grew 
up  with  their  youth,  and  gathered  strength  with 
their  years;  it  mixed  itself  with  all  their  ordi- 
nary labours  and  recreations,  so  much  so,  that, 
as  Jerome*  says,  "  You  could  not  go  into  the 
fields,  hut  you  might  hear  the  ploughman  at  his 
hallelujahs,  the  mower  at  his  hymns,  and  the 
vine-dresser  chanting  the  Psalms  of  David." 

Such  was  the  effect  of  chanting  upon  the  idola- 
trous nations  of  the  earth,  that  it  was  a  power- 
ful auxiliary  in  the  hands  of  the  promulgators 
of  the  gospel,  in  "  turning  them  from  darkness 
unto  light,  and  from  the  power  of  satan  unto 
God."  It  so  affected  the  mind  of  the  learned 
Augustine,|  in  his  gentile  state,  that  after  his 
conversion  he  said  of  himself,  «  The  voices  flowed 
in  at  my  ears,  truth  was  distilled  into  my  heart, 
and  the  affection  of  piety  overflowed  in  sweet 
tears  of  joy." 

From  the  Apostolical  Constitutions:}:  we  learn, 
that  «  the  women,  the  children,  and  the  mean* 

*  Epis.  ad  Marcehum,  torn.  i.  p.  127. 

f  Confess,  lib.  ix.  c.  6.   He  was  Bishop  of  Hippo,  ha  Africa,  and 
died  in  430. 

*  Lib,  ii,  c  57. 


(     ™     ) 

est  mechanics,  could  say  all  the  Psalms  of  David 
by  heart;  and  that  they  chanted  them  at  home 
and  abroad,  even  when  employed  in  their  labours  ; 
making  them  at  once  the  exercise  of  their  piety* 
and  the  refreshment  of  their  minds.  By  thus 
recreating  themselves,  and,  at  the  same  time,  glo- 
rifying God,  they  had  answers  ready  to  oppose 
temptation,  and  were  always  prepared  to  pray  to 
God,  and  to  praise  him,  in  any  circumstances, 
by  a  form  of  his  own  inditing." 

"With  the  sentiments  of  the  ancients  concerning 
prosaic  psalmody,  those  of  the  most  devout  and  pi- 
ous among  the  moderns  are  in  perfeet  accordance. 
The  Rev.  William  Law  says,  "  There  is  nothing 
that  so  clears  a  way  for  your  prayers,  nothing 
that  so  disperses  dulness  of  heart,  nothing  that 
so  purifies  the  soul  from  poor  and  little  passions, 
nothing  that  so  opens  heaven,  or  carries  your 
hearts  so  near  it,  as  these  songs  of  praise.  They 
create  a  sense  and  delight  in  God,  they  awaken 
holy  desires,  they  teach  you  how  to  ask,  and  they 
prevail  with  God  to  give.  They  kindle  an  holy 
frame,  they  turn  your  heart  into  an  altar,  your 
prayers  into  incense,  and  carry  them  as  a  sweet- 
smelling  savour  to  the  throne  of  Grace."* 

And  Bishop  Home,  in  the  preface  to  his  com- 
mentary on  the  Psalms,  says,  "  Such. is  the  ge- 
neral character  of  these  sacred  Hymns  5  the  ma- 

*  Serk>U3  Call,  chap,  xx, 


(  n  ) 

jovity  of  which  v*ere  composed  hy  David,  who 
sought  that  peace  in  these  pious  effusions,  which 
was  not  to  he  found  in  empire.  These  composi- 
tions convey  those  comforts  to  others  which  they 
afforded  to  himself.  They  present  religion  to 
tis  in  the  most  engaging  dress;  communicating 
truth,  which  philosophy  could  never  investigate, 
in  a  style,  which  poetry  can  never  equal.  Calcu- 
lated alike  to  profit  and  to  please,  they  inform  the 
understanding,  elevate  the  affections,  and  enter- 
tain the  imagination.  Indited  under  the  influence 
of  him,  to  whom  all  hearts  are  known,  and  all 
events  foreknown,  they  suit  mankind  in  all  situa- 
tions. He  who  has  once  tasted  their  excellencies, 
will  desire  to  taste  them  again ;  and  he  who  tastes 
them  oftenest,  will  relish  them  best." 

No  part  of  the  sacred  volume  was  evermore  es- 
teemed for  devotional  purposes,  than  the  hook  of 
Psalms.  It  was  the  vade  mecum,  or  manual,  both 
of  Jews  and  Christians.  It  appears  to  have  been 
the  manual  of  Jesus  himself;  for  he  quoted 
more  largely  and  more  frequently  from  it,  than 
from  all  the  sacred  writings  put  together.  As 
.David  had  predicted,  the  Psalms  were  our  Lord's 
"  meditation  all  the  day."  At  the  institution  of 
the  Holy  Eucharist,  Jesus  chanted  with  his  dis- 
ciples the  136th  Psalm  j*  on  the  cross  he  used  a 


*  At  the  Passover,  the  Psalms  which  constituted  the  Hillel,  are 
the  113th,  114th,  115th,  116th,  117th,  118th;  and  on  the  last  day  of 


(  ™  ) 

part  of  the  31st,  and  expired  with  a  part  of  the  22d 
in  his  mouth. 

On  the  day  of  his  resurrection  he  expounded 
to  Peter  and  John  all  things  concerning  himself 
out  of  the  Scriptures  in  general,  hut  from  the 
Psalms  in  particular. 

Deservedly,  therefore,  have  all  pious  persons, 
in  every  age  and  country,  considered  the  Book  of 
Psalms  as  a  most  precious  deposit.  These  divine 
hymns  have  always  been,  and  still  continue  to  be 
constituent  parts  of  the  service  of  every  apostolic 
church,  and  subjects  of  joy  and  gladness  in  all  the 
assemblies  of  the  saints. 

"  Singing,  (says  Mr.  Law,*)  is  as  much  the 
proper  use  of  a  psalm,  as  devout  supplication  is 
the  proper  use  of  a/orm  of  prayer.  And  a  psalm 
only  read,  is  very  much  like  a  prayer  that  is  only 
looked  over,  or  any  other  good  thing  not  made  use 
of.  You  ought,  therefore,  to  consider  the  chant- 
ing of  a  psalm,  as  something  that  is  to  awaken 
all  that  is  good  and  holy  within  you ;  that  is  to 
call  your  spirits  to  their  proper  duty;  to  set  you 
in  your  best  posture  towards  heaven ;  and  to  tune 


the  feast  these  were  chanted  together  with  the  136th,  and  called  the 
Grand  Hillel 

It  is  probvble  that  our  Lord,  with  the  eleven  apostles  (Judas  being 
o-oneto  expedite  his  nefarious  purpose,)  chanted  only  the  136th  Psalm, 
which  served  to  characterize  the  whole  selection  with  the  title  of  Great 
or  Grand  Hillel;  and  undoubtedly  it  was  performed  accoixling  to  the 
usage  of  the  Jewish  Church,  our  Lord  singing  the  first  strophe  of 
each  verse,  and  his  apostles  i  espondiug  with  the  next,  "  For  he  is 
good,  for  his  mercy  en^ureth  for  ever, '  as  the  chorus. 

•  Setious  Call,  p.  18*. 


(    w    ) 

all  the  powers  of  your  soul,  to  worship  and  ado- 
ration. 

"  The  difference  between  singing  and  reading 
a  psalm,  will  easily  he  understood,  if  you  consider 
the  difference  between  reading  and  singing  a 
common  song,  that  you  like.  Whilst  you  only 
read  it,  you  only  like  it,  and  that  is  all;  but  as 
soon  as  you  sing  it,  then  you  enjoy  and  feel  the  de- 
light of  it ;  it  has  got  hold  of  you,  your  passions 
keep  pace  with  it,  and  you  feel  the  same  spirit 
within  you,  that  there  seems  to  be  in  the  words." 

If  the  present  rulers  of  the  Church  of  England 
tlid  not  consider  the  psalmodic  parts  of  public 
worship  rendered  more  lovely  in  the  ears  of 
all  unprejudiced  persons,  and  also  more  promo- 
tive of  piety  and  devotion,  by  chanting,  than  by 
reading  them,  surely  they  would  not  continue 
the  usage  of  chanting  in  all  the  cathedral  and  col- 
legiate churches  of  the  realm.  Nor  would  the 
General  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  this  country  continue  in  our  Prayer 
Books  those  identical  rubrics,  which  direct  the 
choral  performances  of  the  Mother  Church. 

In  whatever  region  of  the  world  true  devotion 
is  found,  it  is  one  and  the  same  thing ;  and  what- 
ever usage,  founded  on  Scripture,  the  universal 
consent  of  the  rulers  of  the  Church  has  ascer- 
tained to  be  subservient  to  devotion  in  one  age  of 
the  world,  is  equal!;  so  in  another.  If  this  had 
not  been  an  aeknowled,  ^d  axiom,  and  a  regulator 
G 


(  n  ) 

of  ecclesiastical  procedure,  the  public  reading  ot 
the  holy  Scriptures  had  long  since  been  discon- 
tinued, and  set  forms  of  prayer  and  praise  had 
ceased  to  exist  many  centuries  before  the  Re- 
formation. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  conceive  how  the 
chanting  of  prosaic  psalms  and  hymns  could  have 
been  so  promotive  of  piety  and  devotion,  during 
the  times  of  the  apostles,  the  purest  ages  of  the 
Church,  and  among  all  Christian  nations,  even 
down  to  the  sera  of  the  Reformation  ;#  and  that 
it  should,  about  that  period,  begin  to  change,  and 
with  a  sudden  start  in  the  16th  century,  so  lay 
aside  all  its  former  capabilities,  and  assume  con- 
trary ones,  as  to  be  thenceforth  injurious  to  the 
devotion  of  every  subsequent  generation  of  man- 
kind !  For  my  part,  I  can  just  as  easily  believe, 
that  sometime  in  the  15th  or  16th  centuries, 
the  holy  Scriptures  ceased  to  be  "  the  law  of  the 
spirit  of  life,"  as  I  can  believe  that  chanting  then 
began,  and  has  ever  since  continued,  to  be  ini- 
mical to  devotion.  The  very  same  arguments 
which  are  calculated  to  produce  a  belief  or  a  dis- 
belief of  the  one,  are  equally  applicable  to  ef- 
fect a  belief  or  a  disbelief  of  the  other. 

The  fact  is— the  change  is  not  in  the  usage, 


*  Tn  1550  Archbishop  Cranmer  first  adjusted  the  Litany  in  the 
English  language  to  a  chant,  and  wrote  to  King  Henry  in  these  words : 
"  I  trust  it  will  excite  and  stir  up  the  hearts  of  all  men  to  devotion 
and  godliness."  Collier's  Eccles.  Hist.  vol.  ii.  p.  216. 


(  «  ) 

but  in  ourselves  ;  and  it  has  been  infused  into  us, 
by  numberless  arts  and  contrivances.  From  Lu- 
ther no  spirit  of  opposition  to  chanting  ever  ori- 
ginated. That  reformer  was  an  advocate  for  it ; 
and,  at  the  present  time,  his  genuine  followers  re- 
tain it  in  their  psalmodic  practice.  Calvin  was  a 
bi(ter  enemy  to  chanting,  and  a  devotee  to  isochro- 
nous music  and  rhyme  psalmody.  He  is  the  foun- 
tain from  which  every  purling  rill  that  has  ever 
threatened  to  submerge  chanting,  originally  flow- 
ed. But  had  that  reformer  been  as  careful  to 
avoid  the  Scylla  of  paganism,  as  he  was  to  keep 
at  an  immense  distance  from  the  Charybdis  of 
Rome,  he  would  not  have  derived  his  notions 
concerning  sacred  music  from  the  former  in  pre- 
ference to  the  latter.* 

Finally— whereas  the  practice  of  chanting  pro- 
saic Scriptures,  and  prosaic  human  compositions 
of  a  similar  construction,  hath  been  sanctioned 
by  Jesus,  and  adopted  by  his  followers  in  every 
age  of  the  world,  may  I  not  ask,  Who  can  justly 
lay  any  thing  to  its  charge  ?  If  God  and  good 
men  have  always  been  for  it,  who  shall  be  against 
it  ?  Is  it  not  enough  for  the  disciple  that  he  be  as 
his  master,  and  the  servant  as  his  lord?    And 


*  Aristides  Qnintilianus,  lib.  h.  p  97,  taught,  that  music,  regulated 
by  poetic  feet  of  long  syllables,  is  grave,  serious,  and  fit  for  hymns 
■which  are  sung  in  honour  of  the  gods,  at  festivals,  and  during  sacri- 
fices "  And  Isaac  Vossius  (in  his  book  De  viribus  Rhythmi,  p.  86  et 
128)  advises  the  moderns  "to  dismiss  all  their  barbarous  variety  of 
notes,  and  retain  only  minims  and  crotchets."— This  would  indeed  be 
"  inventis  frugibus,  glande  vesci," 


(     76     ) 

if  the  master  chanted  forth  the  praises  of  his 
heavenly  Father  in  prosaic  forms,  what  degree 
of  credit  can  be  due  to  the  assertion  of  any  one, 
who  says  that  "  chanting  is  inimical  to  devotion  ? 
For  my  own  part,  so  powerfully  am  I  persuaded 
that  chanting  is  an  effectual  mean  of  exciting  and 
perpetuating  devotion  both  in  the  sanctuary  and 
out  of  it,  that,  should  one  arise  from  the  dead, 
and  tell  me  that  it  is  unfavourable  to  devotion, 
I  would  not  believe  him ;— .because  the  prophets, 
and  the  apostles,  and  my  adorable  Saviour,  in 
their  practice,  have  taught  me  otherwise. 


OBJECTION  XL 

"  Prosaic  psalmody  is  not  so  edifying  as  metre 
psalmody." 

REPLY. 

If  metrical  psalmody  is  more  edifying  than 
prosaic,  why  was  the  New  Testament  written  in 
prose,  and  why  have  we  prosaic  prayers  and  pro- 
saic sermons  ?  If  the  assertion  contained  in  the 
objection  be  well  founded,  the  Scriptures,  the 
prayers,  and  the  sermons  ought  all  to  be  iii 
rhyme;  for  what  is  true  of  a  part,  is  equally 
true  of  the  whole. 


(     77     ) 

Under  the  sanction  of  this  inference  naturally 
arising  out  of  the  objection,  suppose  that  a  mi- 
nister, when  visiting  a  sick  person,  were  to  use 
the  metre  version  of  the  130th  Psalm,  instead  of 
the  prose  translation  in  the  office — would  a  pre- 
tence that  the  psalm  is  more  edifying,  more  sub- 
servient to  devotion  in  the  metrical  than  in  the 
prosaic  form,  excuse  him  to  the  sick  person  and 
his  friends,  or  shelter  him  from  the  censure  of 
his  ecclesiastical  brethren  and  superiors  ?  Would 
not  such  a  piece  of  conduct  appear  trifling,  dis- 
gusting, and  repugnant  to  good  order  and  Chris- 
tian decency  ? 

Carry  this  predilection  for  rhyme  into  the  desk 
and  pulpit,  and  observe  the  consequences.  Let 
ihe  minister  be  supposed  to  introduce  the  psalms 
of  the  day  in  their  metrified  form — would  not 
the  congregation  think  that  he  was  mad  ?  And 
were  he  to  give  out  a  text  from  any  of  the  me- 
ire  psalms  or  hymns,  and  preach  in  rhyme,  they 
would  have  ample  reason  to  be  confirmed  in  their 
opinion. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  adversaries  to  the 
Church  of  England  taught,  that  "  Sternhold  and 
Hopkins's  metre  psalms  were  more  edifying,  and 
better  calculated  to  promote  devotion,  than  the 
prosaic  ones  of  David  ;"  and  therefore  they  tore 
the  latter  out  of  their  Bibles,  to  make  room  for 
the  former."  They  also  held  an  opinion,  "  that 
ho  species  of  praise  was  acceptable  to  the  divine 


(     ?«     ) 

Majesty  but  that  of  rhyme  psalms  and  hymns* 
and  that  David's  prose  psalms  afforded  no  edifi- 
cation unless  they  were  read  as  Scripture.* 

At  the  commencement  of  metre  psalmody  in 
Britain,  it  was  customary  to  read  each  line,  and 
then  to  sing  it ;  that  is,  to  read  each  line  verbally, 
and  then  to  sing  it  syllabically.  But,  though 
this  custom  was  highly  extolled,  as  the  most  per- 
fect and  edifying  way  of  praising  God  that  had 
ever  been  devised,  it  hath  long  since  been  dis- 
continued on  account  of  its  proving  injurious  to 
the  sense,  and  frequently  involving  the  subject 
in  contradictions  and  absurdities.     For  example, 

Header.     The  Lord  shall  come,  and  he  shall  not. 
Singers.     The  |  Lord  shall  |  come  and  |  he  shall  |  not. 
Header.     Be  silent,  but  speak  out. 
Si?igers.     Be  |  silent  j  but  speak  |  out.f 

Sternhold's  50th  Psa.  v.  3. 

Not  finding  the  expected  edification,  and  pro- 
mised auxiliary  to  devotion,  in  this  way  of  using 
metrified  psalms  and  hymns,  many  of  those  who 
felt  engaged  to  extract  from  them  higher  degrees 
of  devotion,  than  what  were  produced  by  reading 
and  singing  them  alternately,  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  reading  the  whole  of  the  portion  of  metre 


*  Thomdike's  just  Weights  and  Measures,  p.  99. 

f  This  diagram  represents  the  favourite  isochronous  music  of  the 
Calvinistic  Reformers,  which  made  all  the  syllables  of  equal  length, 
and  consequently  of  equal  importance. 


(     79     ) 

intended  to  be  sung,  that  the  singers  might  next, 
without  interruption,  sing  it  syllabically.  This 
mode  is  less  exceptionable  than  the  former,  as  all 
the  edification,  which  the  verses  are  capable  of 
affording,  is  communicated  during  the  time  of 
reading  them. 

As  metre  psalms  and  hymns  admit  not  of  being 
sung  any  other  way  than  syllabic-ally,  they  ne- 
cessarily reject  all  distinction  between  long  and 
short  syllables,  between  all  emphatic  and  unem- 
phatic  words,  and  between  all  accented  and  un- 
accented syllables.  In  this  way  of  singing, 
a  monosyllabic  adverb,  preposition,  interjec- 
tion, conjunction,  the  articles,  and  each  indi- 
vidual syllable  of  a  polysyllabic  word,  have  as 
large  a  share  of  intonation  attached  to  them,  as  a 
monosyllabic  word  of  the  highest  import  and  sig- 
nificancy.  A  polysyllabic  word  is  extended  through 
one  or  two  bars  of  music,  whilst  each  of  the  in- 
cremental syllables  engrosses  as  much  time  as 
the  primitive  itself.  The  occasional,  nay,  fre- 
quent departures  of  the  poetry  from  the  verbal 
order  of  thought;  the  sensitive  effect  upon  the 
ear  by  the  recurrence  of  the  chiming  syllables, 
which  engage  too  much  of  the  attention  to  mere 
sound ;  the  sense  or  sentiment  pervading  a  whole 
stanza,  nay,  sometimes  two,  and  all  punctuation 
neglected ;  how  is  it  possible,  that  a  species  of 
praise,  bowed  down  with  so  many  infirmities,  and 
loaded  with  so  many  imperfections,  can  be  pro- 


(     80     ) 

ductive  of  much  good?  At  the  least,  it  must  be 
acknowledged  to  be  extremely  incorrect. 

A  distinct  articulation  is  a  sine  qua  non  to  the 
rightly  hearing  and  understanding  every  word 
of  a  subject,  whether  it  be  said  or  sung.  "  If 
the  trumpet  give  an  uncertain  sound,  who  will 
prepare  himself  for  the  battle  ?*'  Take  away  the 
printed  words  from  before  the  eye,  and  it  will  be 
impossible  for  a  person  to  understand  a  subject 
which  is  sung  syllabically,  unless  he  had  previ- 
ously committed  it  to  memory,  and  with  difficulty 
then.  He  may  indeed  catch  a  monosyllabic 
word  now  and  then;  he  may  with  close  applica- 
tion discern  the  syllables  of  some  dissected  word, 
but  all  the  fruits  of  his  attention  will  prove  but 
a  mean  recompense  for  his  labour.  The  singers 
may  sing  in  an  unknown  language  with  equal  edi- 
fication to  a  hearer  without  book,  as  sing  sylla- 
bically "  in  the  tongue  wherein  he  was  born." 

Daily  observation  teaches  us,  that  reading 
syllabically  is  the  eifeet  of  inability  in  the  infant 
scholar;  and  that  reading  verbally,  with  proper 
accent,  emphasis,  pauses,  and  intonation  of  voice, 
is  the  laboured  acquirement  of  riper  years.  "Why, 
then,  should  a  species  of  praise  performed  with 
the  impotency  of  a  child,  be  put  in  comparison 
with  one,  that  speaks  praises  with  the  tongue 
and  understanding  of  a  man  ? 

St.  Paul  says  of  himself,  and  what  he  says  is 
more  or  less  applicable  to  every  one :  "  When  I 


C     «      ) 

was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as 
a  child,  I  thought  as  a  child ;  but  when  I  became 
a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things."* 

If  custom  has  lulled  consideration  asleep,  and' 
if  sound  has,  at  the  expense  of  sentiment,  en- 
gaged the  affections  ;  it  cannot  always  be  the  case, 
that  we  shall  pay  so  poor  a  compliment  to  our  un- 
derstandings. To  every  unprejudiced  mind  the 
resolution  of  St.  Paul  must  not  only  appear  ra- 
tional, but  also  worthy  of  imitation;  "I  will 
pray  with  the  spirit,  and  I  will  pray  with  the  un- 
derstanding also ;  I  will  sing  with  the  spirit,  and 
I  will  sing  with  the  understanding  also ;"  because 
the  gift  of  prayer  and  the  gift  of  praise  are  equally 
the  donations  of  that  Spirit  who  guideth  his  wor- 
shippers unto  all  truth. 

From  a  cool  and  dispassionate  view  of  the  ri- 
valship  which,  for  many  j  oars,  hath  been  kept  up 
between  metrified  and  prosaic  Scriptures,  it  ap- 
pears to  be  a  lamentable  fact,  that  the  latter 
have,  in  the  estimation  of  many,  lost  much  of 
their  wonted  reverence  and  sanctity.  Instead 
of  prescribing,  according  to  the  custom  of  ou? 
forefathers,  select  portions  of  Scripture  to  be 
committed  to  memory  by  their  children  and  pu- 
pils, parents  and  teachers  recommend  nothing 
of  a  religious  cast  unless  in  verse,  to  be  com- 
mitted to  the  memory  of  youth, 

•  l  Cor,  xiii.  U. 


(     82     ) 

This  practice,  however  it  may  tally  with  a 
leading  principle  in  the  modern  system  of  edu- 
cation, which  proposes  to  conduct  youth  to 
knowledge  in  the  primrose  paths  of  ease  only, 
has  a  tendency  highly  inimical  to  the  study  of 
prosaic  authors.  It  prompts  indiscriminating 
youth  to  prefer  shadows  to  realities,  and  pictures 
to  originals.  It  creates  in  them  a  predilection 
for  rhyme  psalms  and  hymns,  and  an  indiffer- 
ence to  prosaic  ones.  It  impresses  upon  the  ju- 
venile mind  an  idea,  that  there  is  a  degree  of 
elegance  and  beauty  in  verse,  which  is  not  to  be 
found  in  prose;  and  that  metrified  subjects  are 
much  more  entitled  to  their  regard,  than  prosai© 
compositions,  whether  human  or  divine.  Hence 
originate  in  young  persons  of  lively  genius  an  in- 
satiable thirst  for  poetry,  and  an  unwillingness 
to  peruse  even  the  best  prosaic  writings. 

To  some  subjects,  the  flowers  of  poetry  may 
add  embellishments;  but  toothers,  they  are  of 
too  meretricious  a  character  to  admit  of  the 
smallest  degree  of  assimilation.  Fiction  proudly 
struts,  crowned  with  poetic  chaplets;  whereas 
truth  admits  of  no  decorations  in  preference  to 
the  seamless  vesture  of  unassuming  modest  dic- 
tion. 

If  we  critically  examine  the  best  of  the  speci- 
mens of  pagan  hymnology  which  are  extant,  we 
shall  find  that,  in  point  of  sentiment,  they  are 
puerile,  jejune,  and  empty;  whereas,  the  speei- 


(     83     ) 

mens  of  Bible  psalms  and  hymns  are  sublime  and 
interesting  in  point  of  sentiment,  manly  and  vi- 
vid in  their  descriptions  of  the  Deity,  clearly  ex- 
pressive of  the  relation  in  which  we  stand  to  God 
in  time,  and  pleasingly  illustrative  of  that,  in 
which  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  are  to  enjoy  the 
beatific  presence,  when  time  shall  be  no  more. 
In  the  proper  use  of  those  psalms  and  hymns,  the 
soul  is  turned  to  God,  just  as  naturally  as  the 
leaves  and  flowers  of  innumerable  plants  and 
trees  follow  the  course  of  the  rising  sun.  In  the 
proper  use  of  Scripture  prayers  and  praises,  men 
are  changed  into  angels,  and  sinners  into  saints. 
But  when  Scripture  psalms  and  hymns  are 
adulterated  with  the  mixtures  which  the  sensual 
muse  hath  suggested,  little  good  can  be  expected 
from  them :  nor  does  their  manner  of  perform- 
ance remove,  but  rather  multiply  objections 
against  them.  By  singing  metrified  subjects  syl- 
labically — and  they  admit  not  of  being  sung 
otherwise — sentiment  becomes  perplexed,  and  ex- 
pression unintelligible.  In  order  that  a  subject 
may  be  perfectly  intelligible,  and  have  its  due 
operation  on  the  human  mind,  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  it  be  expressed  verbally,  and  in 
the  order  of  thought,  with  proper  accent,  em- 
phasis, intonation,  pauses,  and  cadences ;  in  a 
word,  with  all  the  precision  and  perspicuity 
which  the  general  import  and  harmony  of  each 
period  require.    Without  these  accompaniments, 


(     84     ) 

die  subject,  whether  it  be  said  or  sung,  is  little 
else  than  ««  sounding  brass,  or  a  tinkling  cym- 
bal." 

In  every  one  of  these  qualifications  to  render 
a  subject  intelligible,  and  operative  on  the  hu- 
man mind,  metre  psalmody  is  grossly  deficient  $ 
but  prosaic  psalmody  embraces  them  all.  In 
prosaic  music  in  the  anthem  form,  I  acknowledge 
that  a  misappropriation  of  sound  to  sense  fre- 
quently occurs;  but  errors  of  this  sort  are  of  the 
less  consequence,  as  anthems  are  not  constituent 
parts  of  public  worship.  Between  the  nature  of 
anthems  and  that  of  chanting,  there  is  a  wide  dif- 
ference ;  the  former  being  the  exclusive  perform- 
ance of  a  choir,  the  latter  the  conjunct  musical 
reading  of  a  whole  congregation.  Chants  are  so 
flexible  in  their  nature,  so  subservient  to  the  sub- 
jects of  which  they  are  intended  to  be  the  vocal 
representatives  or  the  echo,  that  however  their 
notes  may  appear  on  the  written  or  printed  page, 
they  admit  of  division  or  prolongation  as  the  ac- 
cented or  unaccented,  the  emphasized  or  unem- 
phasized  words  or  syllables  may  require.  They 
never  demand  any  homage  or  obeysance  from  the 
subject,  but  always  accommodate  themselves  to 
it  in  every  particular. 

Simple  and  easily  learned,  though  grand  and 
majestic  in  point  of  expression,  far  removed 
from  the  nature  of  secular  music,  and  refusing 
to  be  applied  to  any  other  purpose  than  the  ser- 


(     83     ) 

vice  of  the  sanctuary,  chanting  admits  of  every 
grace,  every  excellence,  and  every  degree  of 
precision  and  perspicuity,  which  appertains  to 
good  reading.  Whatever  be  the  subject,  it  is 
recited  in  the  chant  form,  with  a  suitable  decora- 
tion of  harmonious  sounds  expressive  of  its  sense 
and  import.  The  tutored  and  the  untutored  ear, 
if  free  from  prejudice,  are  delighted  with  the 
majesty  of  the  chords,  and  the  solemnity  of  the 
movements ;  and  the  heart  is  inflamed  with  the 
raptures  of  Jehovah's  praise  expressed  in  the 
words  of  divine  inspiration. 

Comparing  rhyme  psalmody  with ehanting,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Thorndike  thus  writes :  "  The  Church 
uses  prosaic  psalms,  supposing  them  all  fulfilled 
in  Christ  and  Christians;  whether  particular 
souls,  or  the  body  of  his  Church.  Upon  this  ac- 
count they  are  the  exercise  of  Christian  devotions ; 
but  not  the  psalms  in  rhyme.  The  music  of  them 
hath  proved  too  hard  for  the  people  to  learn  in  an 
hundred  years  ;  and  yet  no  way  more  commenda- 
ble than  the  rhymes  themselves  are,  and  repeat- 
ing a  little  in  much  time.  The  tunes  used  in  ca- 
thedral and  collegiate  churches  are  easy  to  learn, 
and  serve  that  order  which  law  settleth  for  devo 
tion."* 

It  is  universally  acknowledged,  that  sentiment 
flows  slowly  or  rapidly  into  the  mind,  according 


*  Just  Weights  and  Measures,  p.  9D 

H 


(      86      ) 

as  a  sentence  is  expressed  in  many,  or  in  few 
words: — and   therefore,    both   in   common   dis- 
course, as  well  as  in  the  most  studied  composi- 
tions, elisions  of  words  frequently  occur,  where 
the  rigid  rules  of  grammar  require  their  inser- 
tion.    In  poetry,  though  elisions  and  other  viola- 
tions of  grammar  frequently  occur,  for  the  sake 
of  measure  or  cadence   syllables;   yet,  for  the 
purpose  of  extending  the  sentiment  throughout  a 
stanza,  when  it  cannot  be  squeezed  into  one  or 
(wo  lines,  more  words  are  brought  into  an  ex- 
pression in  the  poetic  form,  than  are  used  in  the 
prosaic.     And  thus,  whilst  prose,  like  a  trusty 
messenger,  hastens  to  communicate  to  the  intel- 
lect whatever  hath  been  committed  to  its  trust, 
poetry,  like  a  trifling  child  sent  on  an  errand, 
loiters  away  the  time,  and  stops  every  now  and 
then,  to  gather  pebbles,  or  to  catch  a  butterfly. 
In  a  word,  the  primitive  way  of  "  setting  forth 
the  most  worthy  praise"  of  our  Lord  and  God, 
is   in  every  point  of  view,  as  much  superior  to 
syllabic  psalmody,  as  a  whole  is  to  any  one  of 
its  parts ;  or  as  the  orator's  articulation  excels 
the  sibilant  sounds  of  the  lisper,  or  the  disjointed 
pronunciation  of  the  stammerer. 


C     S7     ) 


OBJECTION  XII. 

••   Chanting   is  not   so   animating    as    metre 

psalmody." 

REPLY. 

When  we  think  of  the  impressions  which  eus 
torn  makes  upon  the  mind,  and  that  habit  con- 
stitutes, as  it  were,  a  second  nature,  ii  may  be 
expected  that  an  objection  of  this  east  will  be 
offered  to  chanting,  whose  rival,  by  long  ac 
quainta»e*c,  imin  oecome  a  confirmed  favourite. 
The  ear  accustomed  to  hear  sung  mxaoic  finds  no 
difficulty  in  a  transition  to  metre  psalmody ;  be- 
cause both  are  measured  and  in  rhyme.  But  in 
a  transition  from  rhyming  music  to  chanting, 
which  has  in  it  very  little  of  measure,  and  no 
vestige  of  rhyme,  the  ear  at  first  exercises  a  de- 
gree of  repugnance.  This  repugnance  the  ear 
conveys  to  the  intellect;  where,  if  the  effect  is 
not  obviated  by  some  higher  principle  than  that 
of  mere  animal  sense,  the  idea  will  arise,  that 
chanting  is  less  animating  than  metre  psalmody. 

Comparing  a  slow  tune  with  one  of  a  quicker 
lime,  (supposing  the  measures  are  the  same)  we 
say,  the  one  is  not  so  animating  as  the  other. 
And  what  is  this,  but  saying,  that  the  one  is 
more  nearly  allied  to  song  music  than  the  other  ? 


(     S8     ) 

But,  if  song  music  be  the  central  point  around 
which  all  metre  music  moves,  (the  latter  being  an 
imitation  of  the  former)  it  is  impossible  that  any 
comparison  can  be  drawn  between  it  and  what  is 
unmeasured,  or  purely  prosaic.  Similar  things 
tidmit  of  comparison,  but  dissimilar  do  not. 
Whatever  preference,  therefore,  is  given  to  me- 
tre music  over  prosaic,  is  the  e  fleet  of  prior  at- 
tachments, arising  from  the  ear's  being  i««bitii- 
atcd  to  the  one,  and  unaccustomed  to  the  other. 
In  producing  these  attachments,  reason  and  re- 
ligion have  no  agency. 

E>ery  person  of  musical  ear  and  discrimina- 
tion will  grant  that  there  exists  an  intimate,  al- 
iiance  between  meire  psalmody  and  song  music, 
for  both  are  sung  syllabically ;  yet  the  latter  is 
more  animating  than  the  former,  The  reason  is 
obvious.  In  the  one,  the  syllables  are  drawled 
out  beyond,  and  in  the  other,  they  are  pronounced 
in,  the  same  time  of  reading  or  speaking  then)'. 
Let  a  singer  take  a  stanza  of  the  most  lively 
song,  and  sing  it  syllabieaily  to  any  psalm  tune 
of  an  equivalent  number  of  bars,  and  all  its  ani- 
mation will  evaporate.  It  is  the  quick  succession 
of  syllables  formed  into  words,  accompanied  with 
appropriate  music,  communicating  sentiment  to 
the  mind,  which  principally  constitutes  the  su- 
perior vivacity  of  songs  over  that  of  metre  psalm 
tunes.  If  a  stanza  of  one  of  the  most  joyful  of 
the  metre  psalms  or  hymns  be  sung  to  a  lively 


(     89     J 

song  air  of  an  equivalent  measure,  how  much 
more  animating  will  it  be,  than  when  sung  in 
the  common  way?  This  experiment  may  serve  to 
prove  that  a  slow  syllabication  is  highly  unfavour- 
able to  the  giving  animation  to  any  subject,  whe- 
ther sung  or  read.* 

Poetry  and  music,  says  Dr.  Burney,  have  some- 
times formed  friendly  alliances,  but  there  never 
lias  been  any  permanent  connection  between  them ; 
and  "  when  tlie  sentiments  of  the  poem  are  nei- 
ther enforced  nor  embellished  by  melody,  it  seems 
as  if  the  words  could  be  better  articulated  and 
understood,  by  being  read,  or  declaimed,  than 
when  drawled  out  syllabically,  according  to  the 
manner  of  parochial  psalmody.  Metrical  psalms 
and  hymns,  which  are  simply  didactic  or  declara- 
tory, must  ever  be  enfeebled  by  music ;  whilst 
such  as  are  truly  lyrie,  and  confined  to  passion 
or  sentiment,  travel  quicker  to  the  heart,  and 
penetrate  deeper  into  the  soul,  by  the  vehicle  of 
appropriate  melody,  than  by  that  of  declamation. 
When  there  is  no  poetry  truly  lyric,  there  can 
be  no  graceful  or  symmetric  melody;  and  dur- 
ing the  last  century,  there  was  certainly  none  in 
any  language  of  Europe  which  merited  that  ti- 
tle." Again,  he  says,  "  I  wish  not  to  set  up  one 
art  against  another,  or  to  give  a  preference  to 
singing  over  declamation;  but  to  assign  to  each 

*  This  experiment  has  succeeded  among  the  Methodist?. 
&2 


(     90      ) 

its  proper  and  due  place  and  praise.  There  are 
many  passages  in  English  poetry,  which  could 
never  he  sung  by  the  finest  performer  that  ever 
existed,  with  so  much  effect,  as  when  spoken  by 
a  first-rate  declaimed  And  there  are  some  lines 
and  stanzas,  by  which,  an  audience  may  be 
more  completely  enraptured,  when  well  set,  and 
well  sung  by  a  mellifluous  touching  voice  than 
by  the  most  exquisite  declaimer  that  ever  exist- 
ed." And  therefore,  "  as  recitative  is  the  medi- 
um between  declamation  and  musical  air,  and 
admits  of  the  most  perfect  articulation,  accent, 
and  emphasis,  it  is  best  suited  to  devotional  pur- 
poses in  the  offices  of  the  Church."* 

There  are  numerous  reasons  for  affirming  that 
Thyme  psalms  and  hymns  are  sung  more  for  the 
sake  of  sound,  than  for  the  sake  of  sentiment; 
that  is,  more  to  gratify  the  feelings  of  the  sensual 
ear,  with  the  harmony  of  sounds,  than  to  ani- 
mate the  intellectual  perceptions  with  sentiments 
of  devotion.  If  the  reader  should  feel  disposed 
to  controvert  this  assertion,  let  him,  after  singing 
three  or  four  stanzas,  examine  himself,  to  ascer- 
tain the  true  state  of  his  feelings,  and  he  will  find 
that  the  words  thus  drawled  out  syllabically  have 
left  upon  his  mind  scarcely  a  single  trace  of  the 
subject ; — naught  remains  in  the  intellect,  only  a 
pleasing  echo  seems  to  hang  upon  his  ear.    The 

*  History  of  Mussic,  vol.  ii.  passim. 


(     <*     ) 

memory  retains  but  a  faint  recollection,  if  any 
at  all,  of  the  sentiments  contained  in  the  lines 
which  had  been  sung,  unless  the  singer  had  pre- 
viously got  them  by  heart ;  and  when  he  did  com- 
mit them  to  memory,  he  did  it,  not  by  singing 
them  syllabically,  but  by  reading  them  verbally. 
Uninfluenced  by  reason  and  religion,  the  na- 
tural ear  of  man  will  always  prefer  the  music 
of  the  world,  and  those  rhymes  which  are 
the  fruit  of  human  imagination,  to  a  psalmody 
which  is  altogether  incommensurate  to  secular 
subjects.  But  the  Christian,  whose  "  conversation 
(Gr.  citizenship,)  is  in  heaven,5'  ought  to  bear  in 
mind,  that  he  is  no  worlding,  no  secularist,  and 
that  whenever  we  assemble  for  religious  purposes 
in  the  house  of  our  heavenly  Father,  we  turn  our 
backs  upon  the  world,  and  direct  our  eyes  and 
hearts  towards  the  heavenly  inheritance.  We  say 
to  the  world,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,  for 
thou  savourest  not  the  things  that  are  of  God :" 
and  we  address  our  heavenly  Father,  the  keeper 
of  our  treasure,  «  Lord,  we  wait  for  thy  loving- 
kindness  in  the  midst  of  thy  temple."  In  the 
courts  of  the  house  of  our  God,  our  affections, 
our  services,  our  words,  and  our  voices,  ought  all 
to  be  harmonized  to  those  of  angelic  worshippers. 
Nay,  our  Yery  perceptions  ought  to  be  so  disen- 
gaged from  whatever  is  secular,  as  to  be  wholly 
celestial  and  divine.  In  the  assembly  of  the 
saints,  pride  yields  to  humility  5  superiority  to 


(  *  ) 

equality;  pomp  and  splendour  to  confession  of 
poverty  and  meanness ;  and  our  taste  for  secular 
elegancy  and  refinement,  to  the  simplicity  en- 
joined by  the  gospel  of  God  our  Saviour.  Here, 
the  song9  and  music  of  the  orchestra  ought  not 
to  give  rule  for  the  performance  of  the  songs  of 
Zion :  far  less,  under  the  deceitful  guise  of  com- 
parison, to  he  allowed  to  enter  into  competition 
with  them.  The  former  perish  in  the  using  of 
•hem,  but  the  latter  are  preludes  nnd  foretastes 
of  the  hallelujahs  of  everlasting  life. 

The  appointed  psalms  and  hymns  of  the  Prayer 
Book  are  the  proper  songs  of  our  Zion ;  and  there- 
fore they  ought  to  be  sung  with  grateful  hearts 
and  elevated  voices ;  but  if  our  hearts  take  less 
delight  in  singing  them,  than  in  singing  metre 
psalms  and  hymns,  a  proof  hence  arises,  that  our 
hearts  do  not  so  much  harmonize  with  the  affec- 
tions of  the  prophets,  apostles,  and  first  fathers  of 
the  Church,  as  with  the  conceits  of  modern  and 
uninspired  versifiers.  If  we  are  more  exhilarated 
by  singing  metre  psalms  and  hymns  of  human 
versification,  than  by  chanting  psalms  and  hymns 
of  divine  inspiration,  and  other  hymns  also  of  a 
similar  construction — however  reluctant  we  may 
be  to  acknowledge  it,— -this  can,  in  truth,  be  called 
nothing  else,  than  a  taking  more  delight  in  the 
inventions  of  men  than,  in  the  appointments  of 
God. 

All  the  spiritual  hilarity  that  can  accrue  from 


(     93     ) 

The  use  of  metrified  psalms  and  hyuins,  must  arise 
from  the  sounds,  or  movements  to  which  they  are 
sung.  Sung,  as  they  always  are  syllabically, 
without  accent,  without  emphasis,  or  with  a  mis- 
placed one,  and  without  punctuation,  they  are  as 
incapable  of  communicating  sentiments  to  the 
mind,  as  the  same  subject  would  be,  if  all  its 
syllables  were  pronounced  on  one  note,  and  in 
the  same  time  as  that  in  wiiich  they  are  sung. 
Let  the  experiment  be  made  with  any  subject, 
and  the  syllabic  reading  will  be  so  far  from  en- 
livening, that  it  will  east  a  torpor  and  uninter- 
estedness  over  the  whole  sentence.  The  ear  will 
become  impatient  at  the  fractional  division  of  the 
sentence,  and  the  mind  disgusted  by  being  kept 
so  long  in  suspence  as  to  its  import. 

With  regard  to  chanting  prosaic  subjects,  the 
oase  is  quite  otherwise.  The  time  of  chanting 
and  deliberate  reading  being  nearly  the  same, 
'>very  word  properly  pronounced,  regularly  ac- 
centuated, duly  emphasised,  reaches  the  intellect 
without  any  of  those  interruptions  which  are  the 
inseparable  concomitants  of  metre  psalmody. 
Beside,  the  subjects  for  chanting  are  calculated 
to  affect  the  heart  infinitely  more  than  those 
which  are  metrical  ,•  because  they  are  expressed 
in  fewer  words,  more  in  the  order  of  thought, 
more  obvious  as  to  their  meaning,  and  free  of 
those  tricks  and  disguises  which  the  art  of  poetry 
frequently  uses  to  give  elegance  where  simplicity 


(     9A     ) 

rejects  it,  and  to  add  ornament  to  what  is  already 
perfect. 

If  we  examine  the  New  Testament  hymns,  we 
may  form  some  idea  of  the  eestaey  of  joy  and  tri- 
umph with  which  they  were  chanted  by  the  faith- 
ful of  ancient  limes.  What  words  can  indicate 
higher  exultation  of  mind,  than  the  song  of  Eli- 
zabeth, of  Mary,  of  Zacharias,  and  of  Simeon  ?* 
Compared  with  these  in  their  prosaic  forms,  ail 
versifications  of  them  are  puerile  and  jejune. 
if  we  compare  the  song  of  the  heavenly  host  an- 
nouncing the  birth  of  the  world's  Redeemer, 
with  any  existing  verse  translation,  how  digni- 
fied and  simple  in  the  prosaic  form — how  quaint 
and  trifling  in  the  metrical?  Let  the  best 
poet  that  ever  existed  undertake  to  versify  the 
triumphant  hymn  of  Peter  and  John,  recorded 
in  the  Hh  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles ; 
his  performance  would  be  vapid  and  unanimating, 
compared  with  the  inspired  original.  Pope's  ce- 
lebrated  Messiah  loses  much  of  its  splendour 
when  compared  with  the  diction  of  that  bard, 
who  was  rendered  superlatively  eloquent,  by  hav- 
ing his  iips  touched  by  a  coal  from  the  altar  of 
Jehovah.  As  to  Pope's  parody  on  our  Lord's 
Prayer,  on  which  every  epithet  of  praise  has  been 
lavished  by  critic  s  without  Christianity  ;  every  in- 
telligent Christian,  upon  reading  the  first  stanza, 

*  St  L    :  ,  and  ii.  ?9— 3^ 


(      9^     ) 

Hnifft  pronounce  it  a  j  amble  of  J  udaism,  Paganism, 
iru!  Christianity.  But  it  is  in  rhyme— .nd  that 
makes  amends  for  every  other  blemish  ' ! ! 

Again — let  any  of  the  most  celebrated  poets  of 
the  present  time  versify  Isaiah's  Cherubic  hymn, 
or  St.  John's  Hallelujahs  of  the  choirs  around  the 
throne  of  ineffable  glory ;  how  trilling  and  un- 
important would  be  his  lines — how  crowded  with 
expletives  and  adventitious  epitiicts — how  damped 
by  unnecessary  interjections — how  much  of  the 
darkness  of  earth,  and  how  little  of  the  light  of 
heaven— and.  in  a  word,  how  prominent  a  proof 
would  the  productions  yield,  that  human  imagi- 
nation can  be  no  successful  rival  for  the  palm  of 
excellence,  when  it  dares  to  come  in  competition 
with  Divine  inspiration ! 

In  the  volume  of  Divine  Revelation  we  have 
such  a  profusion  of  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiri- 
tual songs,  calculated  by  infinite  wisdom  and  good- 
ness, "  to  make  glad  the  cily  of  our  God,"  that 
one  would  think  a  desire  of  altering  their  form, 
or  of  adding  to  their  numbers,  bore  no  small  re- 
semblance to  the  insatiableness  of  the  ancient  Is- 
raelites, who  loathed  the  manna  which  descended 
from  heaven,  and  lusted  after  the  productions  of 
earth !  But  if  the  manna  of  scripture  forms  of 
praise  does  not  prove  to  our  taste  as  honey  and  the 
honey  comb;  if  it  does  not,  like  the  most  gene- 
rous wine,  or  the  choicest  Cordial,  exhilarate 
our  spirits,  and  make  us  rejoice  in  ihe  Lord  al- 


(     96     ) 

ways ;  the  fault  is  not  in  the  gift,  but  in  the  re* 
ccivers. 

In  some  places,  our  Lord  could  not  do  many 
miracles  on  account  of  the  infidelity  of  the  in- 
habitants ;  and  his  general  crimination  of  the 
Jews  was — that  they  had  "  made  the  word  of 
God  of  none  effect,  through  their  traditions." 

If  then  rabinical  traditions  were  made  rivals 
to  saeied  Scripture  in  our  Saviour's  time ;  that 
poetical  traditions  should  become  similar  rivals  in 
any  subsequent  period,  is  no  matter  of  surprise. 
It  is  a  prominent  characteristic  of  our  fallen  na- 
ture, that  we  are  continually  m  given  to  change." 

To  counteract  this  roving  disposition,  the 
prayers  of  the  Church  are  fixed,  and  to  each  of 
her  offices  belong  appropriate  portions  of  psal- 
mody. These  the  Church  calls  God's  **  most 
worthy  praise,"  but  no  where  does  she  dignify 
the  metre  psalms  and  hymns  with  that  honour- 
able appellation. 

Obedient  to  the  sacred  injunction,  "  Rejoice 
in  the  Lord  ye  righteous,"  the  Church,  in  her 
appointed  psalms  and  hymns,  continually  "  mag- 
nilieth  the  Lord,  and  rejoiceth  in  God  her  Sa- 
viour." With  the  Virgin  Mother,  she  is  always 
seen  with  the  holy  child  Jesus  in  her  arms;  and 
her  accents  of  faith,  love,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  are,  "  Be  it  unto  me  according  to  thy 
word."  The  Scriptures  of  truth  are  her  counsel- 
lors, the  Psalms  of  David  (not  the  metre  psalms v 


t     97     ) 

are  licr  meditation  all  the  day.     *  The  statutes 
of  the   Lord  are  right,  and  rejoice  her  heart ; 
the  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure,  and  giveth 
light  unto  her  eyes."*     She  lifteth  up  her  voice, 
and  is  not  afraid  of  the  enemy,  because  great  is 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel  in  the  midst  of  her.    She 
would  not  act  in  her  true  character,  were  she  to 
sit  down  like  a  widow,  and  close  her  lips  in  si- 
lence.    She  looks  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  shall 
change  the  body  of  her  humiliation,  and  fashion 
it  like  unto  his  own  glorious  body ;  and  therefore 
she  rejoices  and  sings  on  the  returning  days  of 
the  Son  of  man,  and  celebrates  her  Redeemer's 
praises  in  words  of  his  own  inditing.     Like  the 
smoke  of  the  incense  from  the  censer  of  Aaron, 
on  the  great  day  of  atonement,  her  eucharistie 
incense  of  praise  ascends  up  before  God,  in  the 
words  of  the  cherubic  hymn ;  and  in  the  words 
of  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  the  oblation  of  praise 
is  finished,  and  rendered  acceptable  to  the  Tri- 
une Majesty,  through  the  ever  grateful  savour 
of  the  incense  of  "  the  oblation   of  the  body  of 
Christ" 

Such  is  the  religions  joy  that  maketli  glad  the 
<city  of  the  living  God ;  that  voice  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving,  which  it  well  becomes  the  just  to 
lift  up  unto  God  in  the  beauty  of  holiness.  Such 
was  the  mirth  of  tabrets  and  of  trumpets?  and 

"  Ps&lm  xix.  S, 


(     98     ) 

the  voices  of  the  choirs  of  the  ancient  Jewish 
Church ;  sucli  is  the  mirth  of  organs  and  of  voices 
praising  God  in  the  Church  militant;  and  such 
is  the  joy  and  exultation  of  harpers  harping  with 
their  harps,  of  cherubim  and  seraphim,  and  of 
the  innumerable  choirs  of  the  redeemed  of  the 
Lord,  in  the  Church  triumphant. 

Suffer  me,  reader,  to  present  you  with  a  por- 
trait of  this  mirth.  Behold  her  appearance  and 
her  attire. 

Her  countenance  is  animated  with  the  hope 
of  a  glorious  immortality ;  and  no  wrinkle  of 
melancholy,  or  frown  of  discontent,  is  to  be 
seen  on  her  forehead.  On  her  eye-brows  sit  tran- 
quillity and  peace ;  and  their  bending  arches  joint- 
ly represent  the  celestial  arch,  the  emblem  and 
pledge  of  divine  mercy.  Her  eyes  are  illumin- 
ated with  a  radiance  reflected  from  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  face  of  the  Saviour  Jesus;  and  her 
mouth  is  lovely  in  chanting  forth  "  the  most 
worthy  praises"  of  the  heavenly  King.  Her 
complexion  and  colour  are  the  sure  tokens  of  in- 
ward peace  and  spiritual  health ;  for  sickness  and 
mortality  have  no  claim  upon  her  immaculate 
nature.  She  is  decked  in  the  robes  of  primeval 
innocence,  and  her  jewels  are  those  of  meekness, 
gentleness,  and  purity.  In  her  hand  she  holdeth 
an  harp  ever  in  unison  with  the  harp  of  David; 
her  voice  is  ever  attuned  to  the  songs  of  Zion, 
and  on  her  head  is  a  crown  of  glory,  the  inesti 


(      99      ) 

inable  gift  of  the  Virgin's  Son.  Graceful  in  all 
her  steps,  she  walketh  to  and  fro  in  the  courts  of 
the  eternal  King,  or  taketh  her  station  as  direc- 
tress of  the  grand  chorus  around  the  throne  of 
the  Ancient  of  days.  On  earth,  she  continually 
magnifieth  the  Lord,  and  rejoiceth  in  God  her 
Saviour.  She  enters  the  courts  of  the  Lord  with 
a  song,  and  inspires  the  faithful  to  sing  psalms 
unto  the  honour  of  his  name.  In  the  days  of 
sickness  and  distress  she  tcacheth  the  daughters 
of  Zion  to  shake  their  head  at  the  adversary; 
and  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection  she  caus- 
eth  the  voice  of  melody  to  be  heard  through  all 
the  chambers  of  the  grave.  She  accompanies  all 
the  children  of  the  resurrection  to  the  rest  pre- 
pared for  them ;  and  teacheth  them  to  sing  the 
song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb.  With  her  jubi- 
lant voice  she  exhilarates  the  abodes  of  bliss, 
and  makes  the  lofty  arch  of  heaven  to  ring  with 
incessant  hallelujahs.* 

Who  then  is  not  in  love  with  religious  mirth? 

Who  would  not  eourt  her  with  her  numerous 
graces  and  endowments,  conferred  upon  her  by 
Him,  who  hath  created  her  for  his  glory,  and 
the  felicity  of  his  chosen,  and  hath  honoured  her 
with  such  distinguishing  marks  of  his  favour  ? 

If,  readers,  you  desire  to  admit  this  heavenly 
guest  into  your  company,  and  to  give  her  an  upper 

*  This  portrait  of  religious  mirth  is  an  imitation  of  a  portrait  of 
Patience  drawn  by  Bishop  Home,  fxonx  an  original  by  TerfcoHian, 


(     100     ) 

room  in  your  hearts,  see  that  they  be  made  pure, 
as  she  is  pure;  see  that  your  affections  be  duly 
prepared  for  becoming  her  hand-maids.  Be  as- 
sured that  she  will  not  associate  with  impure 
thoughts,  and  unhallowed  desires.  She  will  keep 
no  company  with  wrath,  anger,  clamour,  evil 
surmisings,  backbitings,  or  revenge.  The  com- 
pany in  which  she  delights,  is  faith,  hope,  and 
charity ;  truth,  sincerity,  and  honesty  ;  with  pa- 
vienee,  meekness,  chastity,  gentleness,  and  mu- 
tual forbearance.  These  are  her  intimate  com- 
panions, her  chosen  friends,  the  society  in  which 
her  soul  delighteth.  With  these,  as  her  beloved 
choristers,  religious  mirth  sings;  "  O  come,  let 
us  sing  unto  the  Lord,  and  show  ourselves  glad 
in  him  with  Psalms.  We  praise  thee,  O  God; 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth.  O  all 
ye  works  of  the  Lord,  bless  ye  the  Lord,  praise 
him  and  magnify  him  for  ever,  O  be  joyful  in 
the  Lord,  all  ye  lands;  serve  the  Lord  with  glad- 
ness, and  come  before  his  presence  with  a  song. 
Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  for  he  hath 
visited  and  redeemed  his  people.  Show  your- 
selves joyful  unto  the  Lord,  all  ye  lands ;  for  thou, 
Lord,  hast  made  me  glad  through  thy  works, 
and  I  will  rejoice  in  giving  praise  for  the  opera- 
tions of  thy  hands.  Let  the  people  praise  thee, 
O  God,  yea,  let  all  the  people  praise  thee* 
Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  with- 
in me,  praise  his  holy  name.     With  angels  and 


(     101     ) 

archangels,  and  with  all  the  company  of  heaven, 
we  laud  and  magnify  thy  glorious  name.  For 
thou  only  art  holy,  thou  only  art  the  Lord ;  thou 
only,  O  Christ,  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  art  most 
High  in  the  glory  of  God  the  Father.  Amen. 
Salvation  to  our  God9  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne; 
and  unto  the  Lamb.  Blessing,  and  glory,  and 
wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honour,  and 
power,  and  might,  he  unto  our  God  for  ever  and 
ever.    Amen." 


OBJECTION  XIII. 

*  It  is  inexpedient  to  use  chanting,  as  there  is 
do  internal  evidence  in  the  prosaic  subjects  them 
selves,  that  they  ought  to  be  sung." 

REPLY. 

Let  the  objector  think  of  the  musical  estab- 
lishment of  the  temple  for  the  express  purpose 
of  celebrating  Jehovah's  praise  in  prosaic  forms 
^-of  the  practice  of  our  Lord  in  countenancing 
that  establishment,  and  approbating  its  perform- 
ances. Let  him  also  consider  that  ail  the  New 
Testament  hymns  are  in  prose,  and  that  these, 
with  the  Bible  psalms,  were  chanted  to  airs  de- 
rived from  the  Temple  service,  by  the  Apostle? 


(     102     ) 

and  primitive  Christians;  and  that  this  usage, 
with  Christianity  itself,  hath  been  transmitted 
through  the  intervening  ages  down  to  our  own 
times;  and  then,  let  him  say  whether  he  thinks 
ihat  we  moderns,  or  the  governors  of  God's 
Church  in  every  period  antecedent  to  our  own 
times,  are  the  more  competent  judges,  whether 
prosaic  psalmody  is,  or  is  not  expedient? 

It  is  a  fact  of  universal  notoriety,  that  the  ru- 
lers of  the  Christian  Church  have  always  consi- 
dered the  use  of  prosaic  psalmody  expedient  to 
he  retained  wherever  it  had  been  established,  and 
to  be  introduced  where  it  was  not  previously 
known.  Indeed,  it  is  highly  improbable  that  a 
few  Christians,  about  three  centuries  since» 
should  be  possessed  of  the  mind  of  God  relative 
to  psalmody,  in  a  higher  degree  than  all  the 
Christians  who  had  gone  before  them. 

On  the  plea  of  inexpediency,  the  use  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  public  reading  of  the  holy 
Scriptures,  and  a  iixed  Liturgy,  have,  for  many 
years,  been  rejected  by  various  sects  of  Christians, 
and  the  inventions  and  traditions  of  uninspired 
men  have  been  made  to  supply  their  place.  But 
every  churchman  knows  that  the  use  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  public  reading  of  the  holy 
Scriptures,  and  a  fixed  Liturgy,  are  as  expedient 
and  necessary  at  the  present  time,  as  they  were 
in  the  early  ages  of  Christianity ;  and  that,  under 
the  influences  of  the  spirit  of  grace,  the  conti- 


(    io^    ) 

aued  use  of  them  is  the  only  security  the  Church 
can  possess  against  infidelity,  heresy  and  schism. 

Were  we  to  reject  the  manner  of  worshipping 
God  adopted  by  our  first  Fathers  in  Christ,  our 
doing  so  would  be  a  condemnation  of  their  prac- 
tice, and  virtually  saying  that  we  are  wiser  than 
they.  And  who  will  say  that  modern  Christians 
are  better  judges  of  expediency  or  inexpediency, 
in  things  pertaining  to  God,  than  the  early  Fa- 
thers of  the  household  of  faith  ?  Are  we  more 
conversant  with  the  Scriptures,  have  we  more  of 
the  spirit  of  Christ,  that  we  are  warranted  in 
rejecting  an  auxiliary  to  devotion,  of  whose  ex- 
pediency they  were  universally  ascertained  ?  Does 
the  blood  of  Christ  run  so  warm  in  our  veins,  that 
it  is  inexpedient  to  apply  any  stimulus  to  excite 
Us  vital  energies  ?  Or  rather,  do  not  our  coldness 
and  indifference  to  divine  things  betray  them- 
selves in  numberless  instances? 

As  we  have  the  practice  of  the  purest  ages  of 
the  Church  for  our  ensample,  every  palpable  de- 
parture from  it  is  not  only  inexpedient,  but  dan- 
gerous. 

To  facilitate  the  present  enquiry,  let  the  ap- 
pointed hymns  of  our  offices  be  named  according 
to  their  order. 


(     10*     ) 

MORNING  PRAYER. 

Venite,  exuUemus  Domino. 

The  first  verse  of  this  Psalm  determines  the 
manner  of  its  performance.  "  O  come,  let  us 
sing  unto  the  Lord ;  let  us  heartily  rejoice 
in  the  strength  of  our  salvation."  The  invitation 
is  to  sing,  not  to  read  or  to  say*  unto  the  Lord; 
and  however  the  ruhric  may  seem  to  give  a  choice 
of  singing  or  saying,  yet  it  cannot  contravene  the 
import  of  the  subject  before  which  it  is  placed. 

Common  sense  revolts  at  the  idea  of  the  mi- 
nister and  people's  pledging  themselves  before 
God,  to  celebrate  his  praise  by  singing  this 
psalm;  when  by  saying  or  reading  it,  they  set 
their  practice  in  direct  opposition  to  their  profes- 
sion. 

People  may  plead  the  absolving  power  of  the 
rubric,  or  their  inability  to  perform  their  engage- 
ment; but  to  nullify  the  force  of  these  excuses,, 
the  saying  of  the  wise  son  of  Sirach  immediately 
demands  to  be  heard ; — "  When  thou  towest  a  vow 
unto  the  Lord,  defer  not  to  pay  it," 


*  The  word  said  was  inserted  to  please  the  Dissenters,  in  the 
rubrics  of  the  second  Book  of  Edward  VI.  in  1561. 


(     103     ) 

Gloria  Patri,  &c. 

This  Doxology  is  both  a  creed  and  a  hymn. 
It  is  a  test  of  our  belonging  to  the  household  of 
faith,  and  also  a  pledge  of  the  glory  to  be  re- 
vealed.* 

The  word  glory  began  the  hymn  of  the  hea- 
venly host  announcing  the  incarnation  of  the  Sa- 
viour, and  whatever  ascriptions  of  praise  are  pre- 
sented to  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  to 
the  Lamb,  glory  is  always  one  of  them.  These 
happy  and  intelligent  spirits  understand  the  full 
import  of  the  word  glory,  and  therefore  know 
with  what  intonation  of  voice  it  ought  to  be  pro- 
nounced. They  always  (as  St.  John  informs  us} 
sound  it  with  a  loud  voice,  with  the  voice  of  sing- 
ing and  triumph,  with  the  voice  as  of  a  mull/tude* 
and  as  of  many  waters.  The  internal  evidence 
contained  in  the  angelic  glorifications  authorized 
the  usage  of  chanting  them  in  heaven ;  and  a  simi- 
lar internal  evidence  contained  in  our  Doxologies 
authorizes  the  usage  of  singing  them  on  earth : 
and  by  thus  copying  the  example  of  our  elder 
brethren,  the  will  of  the  ever-glorious  God  is 
•<  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven." 

Our  conceptions  of  the  word  glory  are  un- 


*  This  Doxology  was  framed  for  the  purpose  of  opposing  Arian- 
/s"W,  and  whs  admitted  into  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches  about  the 
middle  of  the  fourth  century.    The  Lathis  ascribe  it  '.n  Darcasu^  L 


(     106     ) 

doubtedly  too  low,  if  we  insist  upon  its  being 
merely  articulated :  but  whatever  be  the  extent 
of  its  meaning,  or  the  honours  it  is  intended  to 
express,  Doxologies  have  always  been  celebrated 
not  only  with  a  lifting  up  of  the  voice,  but  also 
with  the  solemnity  of  bowing  the  head  in  the 
Church  militant ;  and  of  prostration  and  the  cast- 
ing of  crowns  before  the  throne  of  God,  in  the 
Church  triumphant. 

Te  Benin  lau&amw.* 

This  hymn  to  the  adorable  Trinity,  among  ail 
the  compositions  ef  men  for  the  use  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, holds  a  distinguished  place,  as  being  fit 
for  the  tongues  and  voices  both  of  men  and  an- 
gels. It  cannot  be  used  with  too  much  devotion  of 
heart,  or  too  much  cngagedness  of  the  affections. 
To  celebrate  the  praises  of  God  in  the  words  of 
this  hymn,  the  whole  man,  soul,  body,  and 
spirit,  ought  ta  unite  in  a  display  of  their  most 
exalted  energies.  Here,  the  understanding,  the 
will,  the  memory  and  the  affections,  the  speech 
and  the  voice,  find  the  most  celestial  and  ecstatic 
employment. 


*  This  Hymn  was  originally  composed  in  Latin  by  St.  Ambrose, 
Bishop  of  Milan,  to  be  used  at  the  baptism  of  two  illustrious  converts, 
Augustine  and  Alvpius ;  and  was  chanted  in  alternate  response  by 
the  Bishop  and  his  two  converts,  on  the  Easter  eve  of  A.  D.  387, 
^vhen  he  admitted  them  into  the  Church  by  the  sacrament  of  Bap- 
dsm.  Collier's  Eccl  Diet 


(     107     ) 

In  different  churches,  different  portions  of 
Scripture  have  been  selected,  and  different  hymns 
of  human  composition  admitted  as  constituent 
acts  of  praise,  in  their  public  offices ;  but  the 
Te  Deum  is  common  to  all. 

That  the  Te  Deum  demands  a  display  of  the 
talents  of  the  voice  and  ear,  and  also  an  accom- 
paniment of  instrumental  music,  when  it  can  be 
obtained,  is  evident  from  the  general  tenor  and 
loftiness  of  its  diction,  and  particularly  from  the 
expressions, — "  We  praise  thee,  O  God;— .To 
thee  all  Angels  cry  aloud ; — To  thee,  Cherubim 
and  Seraphim  continually  do  cry  ; — .The  glorious 
company  of  the  Apostles  praise  thee ; — The  goodly 
fellowship  of  the  Prophets  praise  thee; — The 
noble  army  of  Martyrs  praise  thee  ;—* The  holy 
Church,  throughout  all  the  world,  doth  acknow- 
ledge thee." 

If  it  be  asked,  what  is  the  precise  intonation 
of  voice  with  which  the  sentences,  whose  domi- 
nant words  are  praise,  acknowledge,  cry,  or  ac- 
claim, ought  to  be  pronounced,  the  answer  may 
be  obtained  by  consulting  the  writings  of  the  be- 
loved disciple.  In  the  Apocalypse,  wherever 
mention  is  made  of  the  angels,  the  cherubim,  or 
the  company  of  the  redeemed  praising  God,  they 
are  represented  as  singing—singing  with  a  loud 
voice.  Indeed  Scripture  affurds  no  account  of 
their  having  any  other  employment,  than  that  of 
singing  Te  Deums,  and  Hallelujahs  to  the  eternal 


(     108     ) 

Jehovah.  Of  this  the  primitive  Christians  were 
so  fully  persuaded,  that  they  scrupled  not  to  as- 
sert, that  the  sole  employment  of  the  Church  tri- 
umphant is,  and  for  ever  will  be,  a  perpetual  Hal- 
lelujah, so  diversified,  as  to  comprehend  the  sub- 
jects of  creation,  of  providence,  of  redemption,  of 
sanctification,  of  salvation,  of  resurrection,  and 
of  glorification,  expressed  in  eueharistic  forms 
of  praise. 

What  the  angels,  the  cherubim,  the  seraphim? 
and  the  whole  company  of  the  redeemed  are  re- 
presented as- doing  in  the  celestial  Church,  we 
profess  to  do  in  the  terrestrial,  when  we  acclaim* 
"  We  praise  thee,  O  God."  But  unless  we  copy 
their  example  in  our  acts  of  praise,  unless  we  lift 
up  our  hearts  with  our  voices  unto  God  in  the 
heavens,  and  triumph  as  they  do  in  God  the  Sa- 
viour, our  practice  and  our  profession  are  at 
variance,  and  also  in  contradiction  to  the  spirit 
of  the  hymn. 

Benedicite,  omnia  opera  Domini. 

This  hymn  is  called  the  song  of  the  three  chil- 
dren, and  is  generally  thought  to  have  been  sung 
as  a  trio  in  alternate  response,  by  the  three  illus- 
trious Jews,  Shadrach,  Mesek,  and  Abednego, 
in  a  fiery  furnace  at  Babylon. 

The  title  of  this  hymn  verily  precludes  the  us 
age  of  reading  it,  for  it  is  denominated  a  canti^ 


(     109     ) 

cle  ;*  and  the  internal  evidence,  which  it  contains, 
for  the  propriety  of  singing  it,  arises  from  its 
general  import,  and  particularly  from  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  every  verse  has  the  expression, 
«  Praise  him,  and  magnify  him  for  ever,"  for  a 
concluding  chorus. 

There  is  no  other  hymn  of  this  construction  to 
be  found  in  any  of  the  offices  of  the  Church,  and 
only  two  similar  to  it  occur  in  the  volume  of  in- 
spiration, namely,  the  song  of  Moses  in  the  15th 
chapter  of  Exodus,  and  the  136th  Psalm. 

In  the  136th  Psalm,  the  triumphant  declaration, 
«  For  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever,"  must  un- 
questionably be  considered  the  chorus.  And  in 
the  song  of  Moses,  the  chorus  is,  "  Sing  ye  to 
the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously;  the 
liorse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea." 
This  chorus,  it  is  presumable,  was  sung  by 
Miriam  and  her  associates,  after  the  3d  verse, 
after  the  8th,  after  the  13th  ;  and  the  grand  cho- 
rus, verse  18th,  was  sung  after  the  17th}  both  by 
«the  men  and  women  singers,  as  a  grand  finale  to 
■the  whole  piece.     Now,   if  the  song  of  Moses 


*  The  title  "  Canticle"  is  a  ruie  for  the  manner  of  per^ 
Forming  this  hymn,  being-  derived  from  canto,  to  chant  or  to 
sing. 

Dan.  iii.  23,  24.  In  the  70th  version  in  the  Polyglot  Bible 
we  read,  "  And  Nebuchadnezzar,  »x.ovvev  ujj.vovv<ra>v  eLwrwy 
heard  them  singing  praises ;  and  he  was  astonished,"  &.c. 
The  Syriac,  Arabic,  and  other  Eastern  versions  have  the 
same  expression, 

K 


(    no    ) 

required  a  musical  accompaniment  in  the  wilder* 
ness;  and  if  the  136th  Psalm  required  a  simi- 
lar performance  in  the  Temple;  it  is  unques- 
tionable, that  the  Benedicite  requires  a  musical 
accompaniment  in  the  Church. 

In  each  of  the  first  twenty-two  verses,  an  apos- 
trophic  address  is  presented  to  the  inanimate  parts 
of  the  creation,  inviting  them  to  "  praise  the 
Lord,  and  to  magnify  him  for  ever."  In  the 
three  next  verses,  a  similar  invitation  is  given  to 
the  animal  tribes  to  unite  in  the  same  act  of  praise; 
and  in  each  of  the  subsequent  verses,  the  invita- 
tion is  extended  to  every  rational  creature,  whe- 
ther visible  or  invisible,  to  join  with  us  in  accla- 
mations of  gratitude  to  the  Lord  and  Giver  of  life 
and  happiness. 

And  would  it  not  be  highly  absurd  and  contra* 
dictory,  thus  to  excite  and  summon  every  part 
of  the  creation  of  God,  to  "  praise  and  magnify 
him  for  ever,"  unless  we  ourselves  are  disposed 
to  unite  with  them  in  the  same  divine  employ- 
ment? Nay,  common  sense  proclaims,  that  in 
ail  the  invocations,  which  we  address  to  those 
beings,  to  "  praise  the  Lord,"  and  to  "  magnify 
him  for  ever,"  we  verily  engage  to  take  our  part 
in  the  celestial  exercise,  in  which  we  so  earnestly 
invite  them  to  bear  us  company. 


(  ill  ) 

Jubilate  Beo. 

This  is  a  psalm  of  great  exultation,  and  tri- 
umph. It  is  thought  to  have  been  sung  in  the 
Temple  service,  during  the  times  of  presenting 
the  peace-offerings,  and  is  referred  to  in  Lev.  vii. 
12,  13.  We  use  it,  in  grateful  acknowledgment 
of  God's  wonderful  love  to  us  in  Christ. 

To  produce  all  the  internal  proofs  that  this 
psalm  ought  always  to  be  sung,  would  require  the 
whole  of  it  to  be  transcribed.  Instead  of  doing 
this,  let  a  few  extracts  suffice.     «  O  be  joyful  in 

the  Lord  all  ye  lands serve  the  Lord  with 

gladness come  before  his    presence   with   a 

song enter  into  his  courts  with  praise." 

Here  the  dominant  words  joyful,  gladness,  song, 
and  praise,  unequivocally  speak  their  own  mean- 
ing, and  loudly  demand  a  musical  accompaniment 
to  the  psalm ;  chaste  in  its  modulation,  majestie 
in  its  harmony,  and  celebrated  as  becometh  the 
"  beauty  of  holiness." 

Bene&ictus. 

Let  any  person  of  a  devotional  taste,  and  a 
tolerable  measure  of  ear  and  voice,  read  aloud 
this  beautiful  and  interesting  hymn ;  and  it  will 
he  impossible  for  him  to  do  it,  without  giving  it 
a  musical  intonation.     This  perhaps  may  not  be 


(     112     ) 

observed  by  the  reader  himself;  but  by  an  atten- 
tive hearer  it  will  not  pass  unnoticed.  This  cir- 
cumstance amounts  to  an  internal  evidence,  that 
the  hymn  requires  a  musical  accompaniment,  or 
regulated  tones  of  voice*  so  as  to  render  it  a  so- 
cial act  of  praise. 

The  manner  in  which  Benedictus  was  originally 
uttered  ought  also  to  be  admitted,  if  not  as  an 
internal,  yet  as  a  circumstantial  document  in 
proof  of  the  propriety  of  chanting  it.  At  the 
42d  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  St.  Luke's  Gos- 
pel, we  read  that  the  mother  of  the  Baptist  "  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  that  «  she  spake 
out  with  a  loud  voice,"*  whilst  she  pronounced 
a  Benedicta  or  eulogium  on  her  sacred  visitor* 
At  the  close  of  Elizabeth's  Benedicta  (v.  46) 
Mary's  song,  the  Magnificat,  commences;  and 
although  there  is  no  mention  made  of  her  being 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  of  her  speaking 
her  hymn  with  a  loud  voice,  it  would  be  contrary 
to  truth  to  deny  the  one,  and  repugnant  to  the 
analogy  of  custom  among  inspired  hymnologists, 
to  call  in  question  the  other.  But  inferences 
apart; — the  67th  verse  of  the  chapter  gives  a 
direct  answer  to  the  question,  whether  Zacharias 


*  Elizabeth  "spake  with  a  loud  voice"  anpwurt  <pa>v»  p^ 
jaAjf,  exclamavit  voce  magna,  elevata,  excelsa.  The  words 
?av»  fA.iya.hu  always  denote  an  intonation  of  voice  quite  dif. 
ferent  from  ?a>v»>  merely  speech  or  verbal  utterance.  M*/>/*/.< 
pty&hvnh  Maria  magnifies,  extols,  celebrates  with  praises* 


(     "3     ) 

pronounced  his  Bencd ictus  with,  or  without  a 
musical  accompaniment.  In  that  verse  we  read, 
that  "  Zacharias  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  prophesied.9 ' 

To  every  person  who  is  conversant  with  the 
Scriptures,  it  is  well  known,  that,  among  other 
significations,  the  word  prophesying  denotes  the 
celebration  of  Jehovah's  praise. 

1  Sam.  xix.  20.  "  And  Saul  sent  messengers 
to  take  David  ;  and  when  they  saw  the  com- 
pany of  the  prophets  prophesying,  and  Samuel 
standing  as  appointed  over  them,  the  Spirit  of 
God  was  upon  the  messengers  of  Saul,  and  they 
also  prophesied.-9 

It  is  impossible  to  form  any  idea  of  this  act  of 
Samuel  and  the  company  of  prophets  under  him, 
unless  it  be  admitted,  that  it  was  an  academic 
exercise  of  psalmody,  or  a  rehearsal  of  certain 
acts  of  praise  preparatory  to  the  celebration  of 
the  next  festival. 

1  Chron.  xxv.  1.  «  The  sons,  &c.  who  should 
prophesy  with  harps,  with  psalteries,  and  with 
cymbals.0-— V.  3.  "  Who  prophesied  with  a  harp, 
to  give  thanks  and  to  praise  the  Lord." 

1  Cor.  xi.  4,  5.  "  Every  man  praying  or  pro- 
phesying" &c.  "  Every  woman  praying  or  pro- 
phesying,"  &c.  Here  the  word  prophesying  is 
equally  applied  to  every  man  and  to  every  woman 
in  the  Christian  assembly.  But  women  were  not 
allowed  to  speak  in  the  Church,  in  the  capacity 
k  % 


(  *1*  ) 

of  teachers  or  exhorters,  therefore  there  were 
only  two  things  in  which  they  could  take  a  part, 
the  prayers  and  the  praises  of  the  assembly. 
Hence  it  is  evident  that  prophesying  in  this  text 
implies  singing  praises  unto  God. 

From  these,  and  other  texts  of  similar  import 
which  might  be  adduced,  to  show  that  the  word 
prophesying  embraces  acts  of  sacred  praise,  it  ig 
avident,  that  the  act  ascribed  to  Zacharias,  when 
it  is  said  that  "  he  prophesied"  was — he  sung 
his  Benedictus  to  the  music  of  some  appropriate 
chant  of  the  Church,  of  which  he  then  was  a 
priest,  and  had  formerly  been  a  Levite. 

In  this  hymn,  Zacharias,  full  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  of prophesy,  praised  God  with  a  joyful  heart 
and  loud  voice,  for  the  redemption  of  his  people* 
and  for  the  glorious  intelligence,  that  the  time 
of  Messiah's  appearance  was  come.  Silent  for 
the  space  of  nine  months,  and  now  having  reco- 
vered his  speech,  Zacharias  cannot  be  supposed, 
coldly,  and  without  emotion,  to  have  merely  said 
his  hymn.  Had  he  been  so  insensible  of  the 
inercies  of  redemption,  as  to  have  only  spoken 
his  hymn,  the  stones  of  his  house  would  have  in- 
stantly exclaimed  t  But,  as  other  prophets  were 
wont  to  do,  he  spake  and  praised  God  ;  his  heart 
was  glad,  his  glory  rejoiced,  and  his  lips  were 
fain  to  utter  forth  the  praises  of  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel,  and  the  joy  which  he  had  in  the  long  ex- 
pected Author  of  man's  salvation.    And;  wha$ 


(     H5     ) 

time  so  suitable  for  Zacharias  to  rejoice  with  ex- 
ceeding great  joy,  and  to  speak  good  of  the 
name  of  Israel's  God,  as  when  he  beheld  under 
his  roof  the  desire  of  all  nations,  the  Author  of 
great  joy  to  all  people?  This  juy,  or  rather  ec- 
stacy  of  soul,  is  well  expressed  in  the  etymology 
of  the  word  John,  his  son's  name,  and  is  the 
truth  of  the  angel's  promise;  St.  Luke  i.  14. 
"  Thou  shalt  have  joy  and  gladness,  and  many 
shall  rejoice  at  his  birth." 

And  are  not  we  of  the  many,  whom  this  pre- 
diction comprehends  ?  Are  not  we  of  the  many, 
whose  mouths  were  foretold  would  be  full  of  his 
praises,  and  the  lifting  up  of  whose  voices  would 
be  like  the  lifting  up  of  the  voice  of  the  trumpet 
of  jubilee,  when  the  joy  of  all  the  earth  should 
appear  ?  If  one  of  the  angelic  choirs  celebrated 
Uie  nativity  of  the  world's  Redeemer,  and  if  the 
holy  men,  to  whom  "  the  glad  tidings  of  great 
joy"  were  communicated,  rejoiced  with  exceed- 
ing great  joy,  singing  a  hymn  of  blessing  and 
praise  for  the  glorious  manifestation ;— -if  we  are 
as  sensible  of  the  mercy,  as  they  were  thankful 
for  it,  and  as  we  ought  to  be;  we  would  bless  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel,  and  speak  good  of  his  name, 
as  heartily  as  they  did,  since  the  salvation  which 
he  accomplished  is  as  much  our  concern,  as  it 
was  theirs.  If  Zacharias  and  his  pious  cotem- 
poraries  were  filled  with  exceeding  great  joy,  at 
beholding  the  first  dawning  of  the  Sun  of  High- 


(     "6     ) 

teousness,  in  what  manner  ought  we  to  rejoice, 
when  we  behold  him  not  only  in  his  meridian 
splendour,  but  exalted  above  the  heaven  of  hea- 
vens, seated  in  ineffable  glory,  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  eternal  Majesty?  If  our  affections  are 
not  sufficiently  excited,  by  a  visit  from  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  to  sing  and  speak  good  of  his 
name ; — if  our  spirits  are  not  sufficiently  elevated, 
by  the  grace  of  redemption,  to  rejoice  in  God 
our  Saviour,*— what  subjects  are  capable  of  pro- 
ducing these  effects  upon  us?  Surely  our  ances- 
tors of  the  household  of  faith,  who  rejoiced  with 
exceeding  great  joy,  and  took  delight  in  making 
Jehovah's  praise  to  be  glorious,  will  rise  up  in  the 
judgment  against  us,  if  we,  wilfully,  and  with 
&  philosophic  indifference,  prefer  the  manner  of 
saying  this  truly  evangelical  hymn,  when  the 
manner  of  using  it  as  they  did,  is  within  the 
sompass  of  our  power. 


EVENING  PRAYER. 

Cant  ate  Domino. 

This  is  called  a  new  Song,  not  that  it  is  lite~ 
rally  so,  but  because  the  subjects  contained  in  it 
arc  renewed  unto  us  every  day  of  our  lives* 
From  the  title  new  Song  in  the  text  of  this  psalm, 
the  ancients  inferred*  that  it  had  an  immediate 


(    BB    ) 

reference  to  the  novum  seculum,  the  times  of 
Christianity. 

In  this  song  of  triumph,  all  people,  tongues 
and  languages,  together  with  some  of  the  most 
stupendous  parts  of  inanimate  nature,  are  invited 
to  join  in  the  universal  chorus  of  their  Creator's 
praise. 

Expressive  of  the  wonders  of  redeeming  love, 
of  protecting  providence,  of  deliverance  from 
temporal  and  spiritual  enemies,  and  of  future 
glorification,  this  psalm  requires  to  he  recited 
with  all  the  majesty  of  vocal  and  instrumental 
music,  which  nature  and  art  can  afford.  That 
the  praises  of  the  God  of  our  salvation  ought  te 
he  celebrated  in  the  words  of  this  psalm,  with 
every  acquired  improvement  of  voice,  and  with 
a  full  instrumental  accompaniment,  is  evident 
from  the  claim  to  a  display  of  all  these,  in  the 
1st,  5th,  6th,  7th,  8th,  and  9th  verses. 

Bonum  est  confitetH, 

That  this  psalm  ought  rather  to  be  sung  thaa 
said,  is  evident  from  the  variety  of  musical  ex- 
pressions with  which  it  abounds.  "  It  is  a  good 
thing  to  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  and  to  sing 

praises  unto  thy  name,  O  Most  Highest Upon 

an  instrument  of  ten  strings- and  upon  the  lute 

upon  a  loud   instrument— and  upon    th$ 

UarpJ* 


(     "»     ) 

We  acknowledge,  in  the  1st  verse,  that  it  is  a 
good  thing  to  sing  praises  unto  the  name  of  the 
Most  Highest.  In  the  3d  verse  we  also  acknow- 
ledge, that  he  "  hath  made  us  glad  through  his 
works;"  and  in  the  same  verse  we  pledge  our 
veracity,  that  we  "  will  rejoice  in  giving  praise 
for  the  operations  of  his  hands." 

Instruments  of  music  arc  mentioned  several 
times  in  this  psalm  as  accompanying  the  voice ; 
but  no  conclusion  can,  from  the  want  of  them, 
be  drawn  in  favour  of  saying  it.  Instruments 
are  the  auxiliaries,  voices  are  the  principals ;  and 
though  we  may  not  always  have  instruments  to 
accompany  our  voices,  yet  our  affections,  if  har- 
monized to  the  harp  of  David,  may  well  supply 
their  place.  Our  voices,  with  th#  accompani- 
ment of  eelestialized  affections,  will  be  the  voices 
of  such  as  keep  holy  day ;  and  the  chords  of  our 
spiritual  harp,  **  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suifering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  and  tem- 
perance," will  produce  such  harmony,  as  he, 
who  planted  the  ear  and  reneweth  the  heart, 
will  approve  and  bless. 

But,  if  we  really  believe  that  "  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  sing  praises  unto  the  name  of  the  Most 
Highest ;"  how  say  some  among  us,  that  saying 
this  and  the  other  prosaic  acts  of  praise  is  pre- 
ferable to  singing  them  ?  If  we  are  truly  glad 
because  of  God's  works  of  creation,  pro\idence, 
and  redemption,  will  not  our  gladness  exceed  the 


(     119     ) 

bounds  of  a  mere  verbal  pronunciation  of  the 
words  expressive  of  our  joy  ?  If,  with  our  soul, 
body,  and  spirit,  we  verily  rejoice  in  giving  praise 
for  the  operations  of  the  Most  Highest ;  will  not 
this  joy  and  rejoicing  manifest  themselves  in  an 
elevation  of  voice,  as  joy  and  rejoicing  are  wont 
to  do  on  secular  festive  occasions  ? 

Religion  hath  its  joys — **  rejoice  in  the  Lord 
always,"  is  an  apostolical  injunction — and  he, 
whose  soul  is  the  most  animated  by  the  influxes 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  has  the  most  cause  to  rejoice* 
If  we  are  unwilling  to  rejoice  before  God  in  time, 
how  must  our  affections  be  changed  before  we 
can  be  qualified  to  rejoice  before  him  in  eternity? 
The  understanding  and  the  judgment  may  appoint 
the  sacrifice,  and  mav  even  "  put  the  wood  in 
order;"  but  it  is  the  heart,  with  its  affections, 
that  H  puts  the  fire  under,"  and  makes  our  acts 
of  praise  "  a  whole  burnt-offering,  a  savour  of  a 
sweet  smell  unto  the  Lord." 

Deus  misereutur* 

It  well  becomes  the  spouse  of  Christ,  upoi 
every  returning  day  of  his  triumph  over  all  her 
enemies,  to  appear  before  him  in  her  vesture  of 
gold,  wrought  about  with  divers  colours,  and 
shining  with  a  radiance  reflected  from  the  word 
an»i  sacraments,  and  from  acts  of  prayer  iuid 
praise.    These  not  only  make  glad  the  heart  of 


(     120     ) 

jnan,  and  make  his  face  to  shine,  but  also  send 
forth  a  fragrance,  even  "  the  smell  of  a  field 
which  the  Lord  hath  blessed," 

Throughout  the  Scriptures,  prayer  and  praise 
are  correlative  terms.  There  can  be  no  prayer 
without  expressions  of  praise,  and  there  can  be 
no  act  of  praise  without  a  mixture  of  prayer  and 
supplication.  If  a  psalm  or  hymn  has  most  of 
petition,  it  is  called  a  prayer;  if  otherwise,  it 
is  considered  an  act  of  praise ;  and  frequently, 
when  a  psalm  or  hymn  contains  equal  portions  of 
prayer  and  praise,  it  is  called  a  prayer.  Hence 
it  is  that  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  in  the  body  of 
it,  is  called  a  prayer. 

Because  the  Book  of  Psalms  contains  nearly- 
equal  portions  of  prayer  and  praise,  it  is  called, 
in  the  close  translation  of  the  Hebrew  title,  the 
Book  of  Praises ;  and  yet,  the  20th  verse  of  the 
72d  psalm  (Bible  translation)  has  these  words: 
«*  The  prayers  of  David  the  son  of  Jesse  are 
ended." 

Such  is  the  intimate  connection  between  acts 
of  prayer  and  acts  of  praise,  that  they  recipro- 
cate each  other.  Prayer  produces  praise,  and 
praise  gives  efficacy  to  prayer.  Neither  of  them 
can  exist  without  the  other.  Indeed,  such  is  the 
relation  in  which  prayer  and  praise  stand  to  each 
other,  that  they  are  to  the  Church,  the  body  of 
Christ,  what  inhalation  and  exhalation  are  to  the 
human  frame. 


In  prayer,  we  open  our  mouth  wide,  that  God 
may  fill  it  with  the  manna  of  his  grace,  and  the 
honey  of  his  promises  in  Christ.  In  praises,  the 
vital  principle  of  the  soul,  inflamed  by  divine 
love,  exhales  the  fragrance  of  «  myrrh,  aloes, 
and  cassia,"  an  odour  of  gratitude,  "  a  savour 
of  sweet  smell  to  be  perpetual  throughout  all 
generations."  To  pray,  self-preservation  is  the 
principal  instigator;  but  to  praise  God,  gratitude 
is  the  primary  agent. 

It  pleases  the  goodness  of  God,  to  favour  us 
with  numberless  mercies,  which  we  never  thought 
of  asking ;  and  for  mercies,  which  we  have  im- 
plored and  received,  we  all  confess  that  we  are 
not  sufficiently  thankful.  But  what  avails  the 
confession,  unless  we  determine  instantly  to  cor- 
rect our  error?  With  whatever  degree  of  fervour 
we  pray  for  any  mercy,  with  the  same  degree  of 
fervour  the  grateful  heart  will  always  offer  up 
its  praises  and  thanksgivings. 

Our  praises,  alas!  are  too  few,  too  imperfect, 
and  not  sufficiently  fervent,  to  bear  any  propor- 
tion to  our  heavenly  Father's  tender  mercy  and 
loving  kindness.  Our  hearts  are  not  sufficiently 
penetrated  with  the  goodness  of  God,  to  utter  all 
his  praise ;  and  our  supineness,  in  saying  our  acts 
of  praise,  damps  the  sound  of  our  voices,  when 
they  ought  to  arise  and  ascend  to  heaven  as  im- 
portunate memorials  of  gratitude  to  our  merci- 
ful Benefactor. 

L 


(     122     ) 

If  it  be  asked,  What  internal  evidence  does  the 
J)eus  misereatiir  afford,  that  it  ought  to  be  sung, 
rather  than  said — the  answer  is,  Because  we 
thrice  call  upon  all  the  people  of  God  to  unite 
with  us  in  one  grand  chorus  of  praise  to  the  gra- 
cious Author  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift. 

W7e  know  that  our  praises  can  add  nothing  "to 
the  glory  of  the  Divine  Majesty ;  yet  they  unite, 
as  it  were,  into  a  cloud,  and  then  fall  down  upon 
us,  in  a  shower  of  temporal  and  spiritual  bless- 
ings. Were  the  earth  to  cease  from  sending  up 
its  exhalations,  it  would  soon  become  an  arid  de- 
sert ;  in  like  manner,  without  the  inhalations  of 
prayer,  and  the  exhalations  of  praise,  the  soul 
of  man  would  soon  become  a  seed-bed  for  infide- 
lity, and  for  thorns  and  thistles  of  offence. 

Benedic  anima  mea. 

It  is  impossible  even  to  read  this  psalm,  with- 
out experiencing  some  portion  of  those  devo- 
tional fervours,  with  which  it  was  originally 
written.  But  the  reader  will  perceive,  especially 
if  he  has  a  musical  ear  and  a  flexible  voice,  that 
he  cannot  avoid  elevating  and  depressing  his  voice, 
according  to  the  import  of  the  several  parts  of 
the  psalm ;  and  thus  he  will  perform  the  whole 
to  a  sort  of  irregular  chant. 

After  a  devout  soliloquy,  «  Praise  the  Lord.  O 
ir.y  soul,"  the  grateful  worshipper  proceeds  to 


(     123     ) 

enumerate  the  mercies  lie  hath  received; — and 
not  satisfied  with  solitary  acclamations  of  grati- 
tude, he  invites  every  part  of  creation  to  unite 
with  him  in  one  grand  Hallelujah. 

The  soul,  thus  magnifying  the  Lord,  and  re- 
joicing in  God  its  Saviour,  may  truly  he  said 
to  anticipate  the  joys  of  heaven.  Out  of  the 
abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh,  and 
the  voice  ascends  to  give  glory  to  God,  in  the 
presence  of  many  brethren. 

Gratitude  heightens  the  enjoyment  of  every 
mercy ;  but  ingratitude  renders  it  of  little  value. 
The  grateful  heart  is  always  in  a  condition  to  re- 
ceive additional  favours,  and  renders  it  proper 
that  God  should  bestow  them.  The  ungrateful 
heart,  insensible  and  unmindful  of  favours,  dis- 
qualifies itself  for  receiving  further  donations 
from  above.  And  hence  it  is,  that  the  prayer  of 
the  wicked  (the  ungrateful  man)  is  an  abomina- 
tion to  the  Lord. 

Afraid  of  falling  into  the  sin  of  ingratitude, 
the  humble  Christian,  in  this  hymn,  fervently 
acclaims,  **  Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  sou!,  and 
forget  not  all  his  benefits."  He  observes  that 
"  the  ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his 
master's  crib;"  and  considers,  that  as  God  hath 
given  him  *  more  understanding  than  the  beasts 
ef  the  field,  and  made  him  wiser  than  the  fowls 
of  heaven ;"  so  are  his  obligations  to  honour  him 
"  in  whom  he  lives,  and  moves,  and  has  his  being," 


(     124     ) 

and  (o  si  thank  the  Lord  of  all  Lords ;  for  hi» 
mercy  endureth  for  ever." 

An  operative  recollection  of  the  benefits  con- 
ferred upon  us  by  our  all-gracious  Father,  is  a 
never-failing  source  of  spiritual  joy,  and  of  tri- 
umphant praise.  By  its  fruits,  it  may  always  be 
known.  When  the  heart  is  truly  grateful,  the 
mouth  will  sing  and  speak  praise.  With  the 
sweet  singer  of  Israel,  it  will  be  heard  to  acclaim, 
"  Awake  up,  my  glory ;  awake,  lute  and  harp ;  I 
myself  will  awake  right  early.  I  will  give  thanks 
unto  thee,  O  Lord,  among  the  people ;  and  I  will 
sing  unto  thee  among  the  nations.  For  the  great- 
ness of  thy  mercy  reacheth  unto  the  heavens,  and 
thy  truth  unto  the  clouds."* 

The  spirit  of  prayer,  and  the  spirit  of  praise, 
are  in  effect  one  and  the  same  thing ;  but  how 
generally  do  we  act  as  if  we  considered  them 
wholly  unconnected?  With  the  ten  lepers,  under 
any  grievous  affliction  or  sickness,  we  are  impor- 
tunate in  prayer,  saying,  "  Jesus,  Master,  have 
mercy  on  us  ;"f  but  when  the  boon  of  our  prayer 
hath  been  granted,  how  few  of  us,  with  the  soli- 
tary leper,  return,  as  he  did,  to  give  thanks  with 
<*  a  loud  voice"  to  the  Author  of  the  implored 
mercy ! 

Indeed,  so  long  as  the  psalms  and  hymns  of 
our  religious  offices  are  read,  there  is  no  other 

*  Ps*!m  iTii.  9,  10.  11.         t  st.  Luke  xvii.  12— 16, 


(     125     ) 

way  of  offering  up  to  the  Divine  Majesty  the  ap- 
pointed oblations  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  iu 
our  Prayer  Books,  but  with  a  meek  and  humble 
voice,  the  voice  of  supplication  and  prayer;  (the 
rhyme  psalms  and  hymns  being  wholly  inade- 
quate to  the  purpose) — but  whensoever  it  shall 
please  God  to  "  clothe  us  with  the  garments  of 
praise,  instead  of  the  spirit  of  heaviness;"  and 
to  induce  us  to  wash  our  hands  in  innocency,  and 
present  ourselves  at  his  altar,  then  shall  we 
exhibit  the  voice  of  thanksgiving,  and  tell  of 
all  Iris  wondrous  works  which  he  hath  done  for 
our  souls ;— .then,  and  not  till  then,  will  it  be  in 
our  power  to  make  our  acknowledgments  of  the 
loving  kindness  of  the  Lord,  as  the  leper  did, 
and  glorify  God  with  "  a  loud  voice,"  with  me- 
lody in  our  mouth,  so  as  to  be  an  example  to 
others,  and  with  melody  in  our  heart,  so  as  to  be 
acceptable  to  God.  Then  will  our  heart  rejoice  as 
David's  did,  and  our  mouth,  in  David's  words, 
will  sing  praises  with  understanding.  An  offer- 
ing  of  a  free  heart  will  we  then  present  unto  the 
Lord,  and  praise  his  name  in  words  of  his  own 
inditing.  Our  voices  will  then  rise  above  a  sibi- 
lant whisper  and  a  half-articulated  pronunciation, 
to  the  celestial  melody  "  of  the  voice  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving,  among  such  as  keep  holy  day." 

"  Let  all  those  who  seek  the  Lord,  be  joyful 
and  glad  in  him ;  and  let  such  as  love  his  salvation, 
§ay  alway,  The  Lord  be  praised." 
1  % 


(     *26     ) 

"  Oh  that  the  salvation  were  given  unto  Israel 
out  of  Zion !  Oh  that  the  Lord  would  deliver  his 
people  out  of  captivity ! 

"  Then  should  Jacob  rejoice,  and  Israel  should 
be  right  glad:9* 

COMMUNION, 

Response  to  each  of  the  first  nine  Command- 
ments — "  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us,  and  incline 
our  hearts  to  keep  this  law." 

Response  to  the  tenth  Commandment—"  Lord 
have  mercy  upon  us,  and  write  all  these  thy  laws 
in  our  hearts,  we  beseech  thee." 

After  what  hath  been  already  adduced  in  vin- 
dication of  the  propriety  of  singing  psalmodic 
prayers,  nothing  need  be  said  here  upon  that  sub- 
ject. Suffice  it  therefore  to  observe,  that  we 
have  the  example  of  the  Church  of  England  for 
chanting  these  responses,  ever  since  the  year 
1561,  when  the  Decalogue  was  ingrafted  inta 
her  Communion  Office,  in  the  second  Prayer 
Book  of  Edward  VI.  The  adoption  of  this  part 
of  the  Jewish  Liturgy  is  peculiar  to  the  Church 
of  England. 

The  holy  Gospel  being  announced : 

Rubric — Here  the  people  shall  say, — '«  Glory  be 
to  thee,  O  Lord." 

*  Psalm  Kii.  7,  *. 


(     127     ) 

No  part  of  our  offices  has  experienced  more  and 
greater  rubrical  vicissitudes  than  this  ascription 
of  glory  to  our  blessed  Redeemer.  In  the  Prayer 
Book  of  Edward  VI.  it  was  ordered  to  be  sung 
or  said.  At  the  revisal  of  the  Prayer  Book  in 
the  time  of  Charles  II.  it  was  ejected ;  yet  custom 
still  continued  it  to  be  sung  in  all  the  English  ca- 
thedrals, and  to  be  sung  or  said  in  most  of  the 
parochial  churches.  It  was  admitted  into  the 
American  Prayer  Book  of  1790,  and  rubricated  to 
be  said;  but  it  is  not  noticed  in  the  last  English 
revised  Prayer  Book  of  1801.  This  ejaculatory 
hymn  is  found  in  St.  Chrysostom's  Liturgy,  which, 
with  that  of  St.  Basil,  are  the  two  Liturgies  of 
the  Greek  Church.  Concerning  this  hymn, 
Chrysostom  (de  Circo)  says,  "  When  the  deacon 
begins  to  read  the  Gospel,  we  instantly  stand  up, 
hcKprnviTet;  aosa  soi,  kypie,  singing,  Glory  be 
to  thee,  0  Lord:9 

Because  the  rubric  is  decisive  in  ordering  this 
hymn  to  be  said,  I  forbear  from  insisting  upon 
the  propriety  of  singing  it.  But  why  a  preclu- 
sive saying  should  be  affixed  to  this  hymn,  and 
also  to  the  Gloria  Patri  in  several  places  of  the 
Liturgy,  seems  difficult  to  determine,  when  we 
consider  the  dignity  of  the  subject,  and  the 
warmth  of  devotion  with  which  they  ought  always 
to  be  pronounced. 


(     128     ) 


Trisagion. 

st  Therefore  with  Angels,  and  Archangels, 
and  with  all  the  company  of  heaven,  we  laud  and 
magnify,"  &e. 

In  ancient  times  this  was  called  the  thrice 
holy  and  triumphant  song.  This  is  the  song  of 
the  Cherubic  choir  in  their  abode  of  bliss.  This 
is  the  song,  in  which  the  Church  upon  earth  unites 
her  voice  with  the  minstrelsy  of  heaven,  and  an- 
ticipates the  joys,  "  which  it  hath  not  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man  to  conceive."  The  ascription  of 
glory  to  our  Lord  Most  High,  points  to  that  very 
glory  which  was  set  before  the  Lamb  of  God,  for 
the  sake  of  which  "  he  endured  the  cross,  despised 
the  shame,  and  poured  forth  his  soul  to  make  re- 
conciliation for  sin !"  Who  would  not  then  lift  up 
his  heart,  flaming  with  the  incense  of  gratitude 
for  such  stupendous  good-will  to  men  ?  Who  would 
not  lift  up  his  voice,  and  proclaim,  "Holy,  holy, 
holy,  Lord  God  of  Hosts ;  heaven  and  earth  are 
full  of  thy  glory  :  Glory  be  to  thee,  O  Lord  Most 
High  ?"  The  more  fervently  the  Church  on  earth 
telebrates  the  praises  of  the  Most  High  and  Holy 
One,  who  inhabiteth  eternity,  the  more  joyfully 
will  she  lift  up  her  head  in  the  day  of  the  resur- 
rection, when  music  and  the  voice  of  melody  shall 
be  heard  through  all  the  regions  of  the  grave** 

*  Isaiah  xxvi.  1ft.. 


(     129     ) 

Gloria  in  ExceUis. 

If,  at  (he  creation  (Job  xxxviii.  7.)  "  The  morn- 
ing stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy" — if  at  the  annunciation  of  the 
Saviour's  birth,  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host 
sang  praises  to  God,  saying,  "  Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men" — 
and  if  the  choirs  of  the  redeemed,  enjoying  the 
glory  that  was  set  before  them,  are  represented 
performing  one  of  their  Hallelujahs,  singing, 
"  Blessing,  and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanks- 
giving, and  honour,  and  power,  and  might,  be 
unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever;"  and  another 
Hallelujah,  in  this  form,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain,  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and 
wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honour,  and  glory, 
and  blessing.  Blessing,  and  honour,  and  glory, 
and  power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  for  ever  and  ever, 
Amen" — it  is  certainly  meet,  and  right,  and  our 
bounden  duty,  that  we,  who  hope  to  be  numbered 
with  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  in  glory  ever- 
lasting, should,  while  on  earth,  sing  "  salvation 
to  our  God,"  and  make  a  joyful  noise  before  the 
Lord,  in  the  words  of  Gloria  in  Excelsis. 

There  is  as  much  difference,  in  point  of  effect, 
between  the  saying  and  the  singing  of  this  hymn, 
as  there  is  between  a  fruit-bearing  tree  decorated 


(    iso    ) 

with  its  leaves  and  blossoms  in  the  beginning  of 
summer,  and  the  same  tree  enwrapped  in  snow, 
and  imprisoned  in  ice,  in  the  depth  of  winter. 
The  former- is  a  lively  emblem  of  the  tree  of  life, 
and  the  joys  of  heaven ;  whilst  the  latter  reminds 
us  of  forfeited  glory,  the  shroud,  and  the  pri- 
son of  the  grave. 

Leaves  and  blossoms  are  not  the  fruits  of  the 
tree,  they  are  only  the  pledges  and  preparatives 
for  their  maturity :  in  like  manner,  the  musical 
decorations,  which  are  the  suitable  attendants  on 
psalms  and  hymns,  are  not  praise,  they  are  only 
the  foliage  and  blossoms  of  it.  But  if  the  tree 
produces  neither  leaves  nor  blossoms,  is  fruit  to. 
be  expected  from  it?  And  if  we  refuse  to  grant 
to  our  psalms  and  hymns  that  foliage  and  blossom, 
which  they  require,  and  which  the  Church  has 
always  considered  as  the  audible  demonstrations 
of  the  faith,  love,  and  gratitude  of  the  inner  man 
of  the  heart ;  what  estimate  ean  be  made  of  the 
fruits  of  praise  without  them  ? 

Leaves  and  blossoms  are  preludes  to  fruits  for 
the  use  of  man,  as  acts  of  vocal  praise  are  the 
pledges  of  the  "  fruits  of  righteousness  to  the 
glory  of  God."  But,  without  the  intervention 
of  its  leaves  and  blossoms,  the  tree  will  yield  no 
fruit.  Neither  will  the  fruits  of  righteousness 
be  produced  without  the  leaves  of  prayer,  and 
the  blossoms  of  praise.  The  leaves  of  the  tree, 
like  so  many  hands,  are  opened  and  expanded,  t* 


I     131     ) 

receive  the  benign  influences  of  the  elements ;  but 
the  blossoms  receiving  their  colour  and  fragrance 
from  the  sun,  continue  to  emit  the  same,  until 
their  fruits  commence.  Just  so  it  is  with  prayer 
and  praise.  In  prayer,  the  heart  is  expanded, 
the  affections  are  opened,  soliciting  the  Christian 
graces ;  in  praise,  the  perfume  of  those  graces 
ascends  up  before  God.  as  a  fragrant  offering  of 
a  sweet-smelling  savour,  or  as  "  the  smell  of  a 
field  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed." 

Prayer  is  adapted  only  to  the  condition  of  pe- 
nitents under  the  discipline  of  grace  and  mercy ; 
but  praise,  like  Noah  looking  backward  to  the 
antediluvian  world,  and  forward  to  the  postdi- 
luvian, waiteth  upon  God  in  the  Zion  of  his 
Church  upon  earth,  and  upon  him  in  the  Zion 
t)f  his  Church  in  the  heavens.  Praise  may  be 
rightly  denominated  the  Janus  of  the  temporal 
and  eternal  worlds — of  the  Church  on  earth 
clothed  with  grace,  and  of  the  Church  in  hea- 
ven decorated  with  .glory. 

What  then,  brethren,  can  better  accord  witk 
our  present  views  and  our  future  expectations* 
than  that  u  we  press  forward  towards  the  mark 
for  the  prize  of  our  high  calling  in  Christ  Jesus," 
having  "  the  glory  that  was  set  before  him,"  and 
which  is  also  set  before  us,  continually  in  view ; 
gladdening  the  hours  of  our  earthly  pilgrimage 
with  the  joyful  songs  of  Zion;  celebrating  the 
triumphs  of  redeeming  love  in  forms  which  the 


(     132     ) 

Holy  Ghost  hath  dictated ;  and  inviting  the  inha 
bitauts  of  heaven  and  earth  to  unite  in  our  in- 
spired hallelujahs  of  praise  in  the  ordinary,  and 
in  the  eucharistie  service  of  the  sanctuary  ?" 

«  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God,  even  the  God  of 
Israel ;  who  only  doth  wondrous  things.  And 
blessed  be  the  name  of  his  Majesty  for  ever: 
and  all  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with  his  Majesty. 
Amen,  Amen."*      Hallelujah. 


OBJECTION  XIY. 

*'  The  English  language  is  not  sufficiently  har- 
monious, to  admit  of  being  sung  in  prose;  and, 
therefore,  as  poetry  renders  it  more  flowing  and 
vocal,  verse  is  better  adapted  to  musical  pur- 
poses." 

REPLY. 

Let  a  person  of  correct  discrimination  atten* 
tively  examine  the  verbal  structure  of  any  metre 
psalm  or  hymn,  and  he  will  discover,  that  how- 
ever harmonious  it  may  sound  to  the  ear,  when 
properly  read;  when  sung  syllabicalh,  all  the 
beauty  vanishes,  and  nothing   remains  but  irw- 

*  Psalm  Ixxii.  18,  19 


(     133     ) 

properly  accented  and  badly  articulated  syllables ; 
and  the  more  perfect  the  singing  is,  so  much  the 
more  deficient  is  the  pronunciation.^ 

The  use  of  the  accented  syllables  is  so  import- 
ant, that  they  constitute  almost  the  whole  of  the 
harmony  of  composition,  both  in  prose  and  verse. 
By  arranging  the  accents  differently,  a  sentence 
may  be  constructed,  so  as  to  be  either  easy  and 
vocal,  or  harsh  and  unmusical.  In  general, 
those  sentences  are  the  most  harmonious,  which 
admit  of  the  greatest  number  of  unaccented  syl- 
lables, and  whose  accents  recur  at  ever- varying 
and  unequal  times.  That,  which  pleases  the  ear 
in  reading,  is  the  intervals  between  the  accents, 
as  the  valleys  between  the  hills  delight  the  eye. 
But  if  the  intervals  in  reading  are  filled  up  with 
a  cluster  of  accented  syllables,  there  is  no  divi- 
sion in  the  tone,  and  the  ear  is  thereby  displeased 
for  the  want  of  proper  variety,.  This  is  the  rea- 
son, that,  whenever  too  many  emphatic  mono- 
syllables are  introduced  into  composition,  they 
never  fail  to  obstruct  the  harmony  of  the  sen- 
tence. Those  compositions,  therefore,  which 
-contain  a  greater  number  of  long  words,  must 
1>e  more  harmonious  than  those  which  are  con- 
structed with  monosyllables  and  dissyllables, 


*  Kccartse  "  the  warble,  the  swell,  the  shake,  and  the  impercep- 
tible gradations  of  tone  which  music  demands,  actuate  chiefly  the 
muscles  of  the  larynx,  and  leave  the  tongue  and  the  other  organs  oi' 
•avilculat'.on  almost  unemployed."        lien-its'  Harm,  of  Language. 

M 


(     13*     ) 

Jn  our  inetre  psalms  and  hymns,  there  is  such 
a  recurrence  of  monosyllabic  words  of  undeter- 
mined accent ;  such  crowds  of  expletives,  parti- 
cles, and  conjunctions,  most  of  which  are  of  lit- 
tle other  use  than  as  mere  copulatives,  that  when 
any  one  of  these  in  singing  are  made  of  equal 
importance  with  words  of  the  highest  significancy, 
or  such  as  determine  the  import  of  the  poetical 
period  ;  propriety  is  offended,  and  devotion  itself 
damped.  Monosyllabic  words  are  extremely 
convenient  for  the  structure  of  rhyme,  particu- 
larly when  its  measures  are  Iambic,  Trochaic, 
or  Dactylic;  and  all  our  rhyme  psalms  and  hymns 
are  in  one  or  other  of  those  measures.  Poly- 
syllabic words  are  too  cumbrous  and  un  wieldly 
to  be  introduced  into  fabrics  of  this  sort;  and  an 
observer  may  see  how  carefully  they  have  been 
avoided  in  the  framing  of  every  system  of  sylla- 
bic psalmody.  Let  the  reader  compare  the  metre 
psalms,  and  other  versified  scriptures,  with  their 
respective  proses,  and  he  will  see,  how  frequently 
the  versifiers  have  substituted  circumlocutions, 
to  get  clear  of  long  words;  and  what  an  immense 
quantity  of  heterogeneous  matter  they  have  hitch- 
ed into  the  subject,  purely  for  the  sake  of  rhyme  ! 

In  point  of  intonation,  accent  governs  language; 
in  point  of  sentiment,  emphasis  is  the  ruler;  and 
it  is  wonderful  to  observe  the  good  agreement 
which  always  subsists  between  them.  Words  of 
one  syllable  have  no  natural  accent,  but  ar«  the 


(     18*     ) 

subjects  of  emphasis  only.  In  words  of  two  op 
more  syllables  the  accents  are  fixed,  and  if  em- 
phasis does  not  add  something  to  an  accented 
syllable,  it  never  dignifies  an  unacceuted  one. 
The  only  privilege  belonging  to  emphasis  is, 
that  it  sometimes  gives  strength  and  even  pro- 
longation to  monosyllables,  which  have  no  deter- 
minate accent.  Accent,  however,  has  some  ad- 
vantages which  emphasis  does  not  possess.  Pro- 
nouncing Dictionaries,  and  the  approved  usage 
of  language,  give  a  degree  of  fixture  to  accent; 
but  emphasis,  as  it  depends  so  much  upon  the  ear, 
taste,  and  intellect  of  the  speaker  or  the  reader, 
is  frequently  uncertain.  And  therefore,  as  the 
one  is  uncertain,  and  the  other  is  fixed,  it  be- 
comes necessary,  whether  in  singing  prose  or 
verse,  that  strict  regard  be  paid  to  the  accents, 
in  order  to  render  the  subject  intelligible.  This 
may  easily  be  done  in  singing  prose,  but  it  cannot 
be  done  in  singing  verse;  for  such  is  the  nature 
of  music,  that  it  cannot  endure  the  restraints, 
which  syllabic  measures,  with  regularly  recur- 
ring aecents,  offer  to  put  upon  it. 

The  harmony  of  the  accent  appears  in  many 
prosaic,  as  well  as  in  metrified  productions.  We 
meet  with  lines  of  Hexameters,  Pentameters, 
Sapphics,  and  others  measures,  in  Cicero*  Livy, 
and  other  prosaic  classics  ;,  and  also  a  variety  of 
measures  in  the  writings  of  the  best  English  au- 
thors,  who  have  written  professedly  in  prose. 


(     136     ) 

This  shows  that  the  use  of  rhyme  is  not  ia  th« 
least  essential  to  that  agreeable  flow  of  language, 
which  results  principally  from  the  situation  of 
the  accents,  and  which  constitutes  the  harmony 
both  of  prose  and  verse.* 

To  illustrate  this  position  both  to  the  eye  and 
to  the  intellect,  let  the  following  diagrams  be  ad- 
duced. The  first  represents  the  accents  accord- 
ing to  the  poetry;  and  the  other  two,  the  accents 
according  to  the  prose  of  the  first  verse  of  the  95th 
P»aim,inthe  Prayer  Book,  and  Bible  translation. 

In  the  poetry  of  Tate  and  Brady. 

©  J  come,  loud  j  an'thems  \  let  us  |  sing", 
Loud  J  thanks  to  J  our  Al  j  migh  ty  j  King"; 
For  |  we  our  j  voic  es  )  high  should  j  raise* 
"When  J  our  sal  j  va  tion's  |  Rock  we  |  praise. 

In  the  prose  of  the  Prayer  Book. 

O  come,  J  let  us  sing  [  unto  the  J  Lord ;  J  let  us  hear-  { 
ti  \y  re  [  joice  in  the  J  strength  of  our  j  salvation.  || 

In  the  prose  of  the  Bible. 

Q  come,  |  let  us  sing  |  unto  the  |  Lord;  |  let  us  make  j 
af joyful  I  noise  to  the  J  rock  of  our  [salvation.  ||f 

*  Herries'  Harmony  of  Language,  p.  188. 

jvln  tlie  poetry  there  is  no  variety  of  rhythmical  phrase,  all  the 
feet  being  trochees. 

In  the  proses  there  ax*e  no  less  than  five  varieties  of  musical  feet ; 
and  they  stand  thus : 

In  the  prose  of  the  Prayer  Book,  the  1st  foot  is  a  spondee ;  the, 
2d  an  Anapaest;  the  3d  a  Dactyl;  the  4th  a  Spondee  \  the  5th  an 


(     137     ) 

Here  it  is  obvious  that  the  poetry  is  cramped, 
being  confined  to  one  sort  of  measure ;  and  that 
the  prose  is  free,  continually  varying  its  musical 
measures,  according  to  accent,  emphasis,  and 
the  progress  of  the  diction. 

Dr.  Burney  says ;  "  In  applying  music  to  words, 
it  frequently  happens  that  the  finest  sentiments 
and  most  polished  verses  of  modern  languages 
are  injured  and  rendered  unintelligible,  by  an 
inattention  (o  prosody.  Even  the  simple  and 
plain  rules  of  giving  a  short  note  to  a  short  syl- 
lable, a  long  to  a  long ;  and  of  accentuating  the 
music  by  the  measure  and  natural  cadence  of  the 
verse,  which  the  mere  reading  would  point  out 
to  a  good  ear  and  understanding,  are  but  too  fre- 
quently neglected.'* 

And  again  he  says;  "  Let  the  most  inventive 
composer  try  to  set  half  a  dozen  Hexameters, 
Pentameters,  pure  Iambics,  or  any  other  verses 
that  are  in  regular  common  or  triple  time,  and 
he  will  soon  find  that  no  resources  of  melody  are 
sufficient  to  disguise  or  palliate  the  insipid  and 
tiresome  uniformity  of  the  measure ;  and  for  any 
thing  like  expression)  we  may  as  well  expect  to 


Ampcest;  the  6th  a  Tribrach;  the  7th  a  Dactyl;  the  8ta  a  Dactyl; 
and 'lire  9th  an  Amphibrach. 

The  feet  of  tlie  prose  in  the  Bible  translation  are,  the  1st  a  Sport- 
ive* the  '2d  an  Anapxst;  the  3d  a  Dactyl;  the  4th  a  Spondee;  the 
5th  a  Tribrach;  the  Gth  an  Amphibrach;  the  7th  a  Dactyl;  the  8th 
a  Dactyl;  and  the  9th  an  Amphibrach. 

In  this  maimer  any  portion  of  the  psalmodic  scriptures  may  be 
scanned, 

m  % 


(     138     ) 

be  affected,  by  the  mechanical  strut  of  a  soldier 
upon  the  parade.  In  other  metres,  where  feet 
of  different  measures  are  intermixed,  some  va- 
riety is  indeed  acquired ;  but  it  is  a  misplaced 
variety,  whieh,  without  obviating  the  tiresome 
effect  of  a  confinement  to  two  lengths  of  notes, 
adds  to  it  that  of  an  awkward  and  uncouth  ar- 
rangement. The  ear  is  fatigued  with  uniformity, 
where  it  requires  change;  and  distracted  by 
change,  where  it  requires  uniformity ."* 

An  English  poet  has  comprised  the  general 
character  of  parochial  psalmody  in  one  line,  when 
he  says  that  it  is 

"  Coldly  correct — and  regularly  dull." 

In  reading  poetry,  particularly  rhyming  poe- 
try or  hearing  it  read,  the  ear,  however  pleased 
it  may  be  for  some  time,  with  the  mechanical 
recurrence  of  the  same  measures,  and  the  uni- 
sonous chimes  of  the  rhyming  syllables;  by  de- 
grees loses  that  relish,  then  becomes  satiated 
with  sameness,  and  finally  quite  fatigued;  as  the 
eye  would  be,  by  beholding  the  same  object  at- 
tentively for  a  length  of  time. 

Were  a  person  on  horseback  to  ride  a  day's 
journey  uniformly  in  a  walk,  (in  musical  language, 
in  Spondees ;)  or  in  a  trot,  (in  Proceleusmatics ;) 
or  in  a  canter,  (in  Dactyls;)  he  would  be  much 

k  •  Bumej'9  ^irtory  of  Music,  vol.  i  p.  84,  S5. 


(    us    ) 

more  fatigued  at  night,  than  if  he  had  used  ali 
those  movements  occasionally  diversified.  In 
like  manner,  a  person  is  more  fatigued  by  walk- 
ing a  few  miles  on  a  dead  level  road,  than  on  one 
that  is  varied  with  curvatures,  elevations,  and  de- 
pressions. 

Possessing  an  endless  variety  of  musical  feet, 
occasioned  by  a  strict  adherence  to  accent  and 
emphasis,  prose  has  claims  to  a. musical  alliance, 
superior  to  what  poetry  can  prefer.  Fettered 
and  manacled  as  poetry  always  is,  it  can  but 
rarely  avail  itself  of  those  advantages,  which  are 
continually  accessible  to  prose  ;  and  it  can  seldom 
apply  those  rules  which  are  indispensably  neces- 
sary for  promoting  perspicuity,  precision,  strength, 
and  harmony  in  its  periods. 

If  perfect  harmony  is  looked  for,  it  may  be 
found  in  the  diction  of  the  sacred  scriptures;  if 
the  ear  desires  to  be  gratified  with  a  continually 
varying  modulation,  let  it  listen  to  the  poetic  parts 
of  the  Book  of  Revelation.  They  are  already  so 
melodious,  so  full  of  musical  variety,  so  abound- 
ing with  harmony,  that  a  change  from  their  ver- 
nacular state  into  any  other  form,  is  both  a  de- 
gradation to  their  sound,  and  an  injury  to  their 
sense. 

So  melodious  are  all  the  poetical  parts  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  that  it  is  absolutely  im- 
possible for  a  Clergyman  of  taste  and  feeling,  to 
read  any  one  of  them  without  annexing  such  va- 


(     *4©     ) 

pieties  of  intonation,  as  may  entitle  his  perform- 
ance to  be  called  a  song  of  Zion.  In  reading 
them  thus,  the  harmony  of  their  sounds  delights 
the  ear,  the  divinity  of  the  sentiments  captivates 
the  heart;  and  they  appear  to  be  what  they  really 
are,  "  the  voice  of  God,  and  not  that  of  a  man.? 
That  the  English  language  in  its  natural  pro- 
saic state  is  more  harmonious  than  in  an  artificial 
and  metrified  form,  and  also  better  adapted  to 
musical  purposes,  the  compositions  of  Tallis,  Bird, 
Purcel,  Blow,  Aldrich,  Handel,  Green,  Kent, 
Boyce,  Nares,  Hayden,  and  of  other  great  mas- 
ters, are  indubitable  and  permanent  proofs.  The 
most  eminent  composers  of  Europe  have  always 
made  choice  of  prosaic  subjects,  in  preference  to 
verse,  whereon  to  exert  their  musical  talents; 
and  they  have  but  rarely  condescended,  unless 
at  particular  request 9  or  for  the  sake  of  popula- 
rity, to  write  music  for  rhyme.  From  numberless 
volumes  of  prosaic  music,  I  beg  leave  to  mention 
two  compositions  only,  u  The  Oratorio  of  the 
Messiah  by  Handel,"  and  "The  Oratorio  of  the 
Creation  by  Hayden,"  which  alone  were  suffi- 
cient to  prove  the  superior  adaptation  of  prose  to 
music;  and  that  the  English  language,  without 
being  beholden  to  poetry,  is  sufficiently  harmo- 
nious and  vocal,  to  engage  the  ear,  and  elicit  the 
energies  of  two  of  the  greatest  musicians  that 
e>er  existed. 


(     *41     ) 


OBJECTION  XV. 

Chanting  cannot  be  introduced  into  a  church 
without  the  aid  of  a  choir,  and  choirs  generally 
monopolize  the  singing. 

KEPLY. 

During  the  first  three  centuries,  when  the 
hand  of  bloody  persecution  was  lifted  up  to  ex- 
terminate the  Christian  name,  no  choral  esta- 
blishments could  have  been  successfully  underta- 
ken ;  but  when  the  Christians  were  favoured  with 
the  blessings  of  peace  under  the  protection  of 
Constantine  and  his  son  Constantius,  choirs  were 
established  in  all  the  principal  churches  of  the 
empire,  and  several  councils  enacted  laws  for 
their  regulation.* 

The  reason  for  commencing  these  choral  es- 
tablishments is  thus  given  by  Mr.  Bingham  :  "  In 
consequence  of  the  decay  or  increasing  imper- 
fection in  the  performance,  it  became  necessary 
to  introduce  the  order  of  singers  into  the  church. 
For  when  it  was  found  by  experience,  that  the 
negligence  or  unskilfulness  of  the  people  rendered 
them  unfit  to  perform  the  service,  without  some 
persons  more  curious  and  skilful  to  guide  ancfc 

*  Calraet'a  Dictionarv. 


(     142     ) 

assist  them ;  then,  a  peculiar  order  of  men  was 
appointed,  and  set  over  this  business,  with  a  de- 
sign to  retrieve  and  improve  the  ancient  psalmody, 
and  not  to  abolish  or  destroy  it.  In  some  places, 
it  was  thought  fit,  for  some  time  to  prohibit  all 
others  from  singing  but  these  only  ;*  with  design, 
no  doubt,  to  restore  the  consent  of  the  ancient 
ecclesiastical  harmony,  which  otherwise  could  not 
have  been  done,  but  by  obliging  the  rest  for  some 
time  to  be  silent,  and  learn  of  those  who  were 
more  skilful  in  the  art  of  music.  These  singers 
sat  in  a  desk  called  the  Airibo,  and  always  sung 
by  book.  But  (his  was  a  temporary  provision, 
designed  only  to  restore  and  revive  the  ancient 
psalmody,  by  reducing  it  to  its  primitive  harmony 
and  perfection ;  that  after  a  while,  all  the  con- 
gregation might  the  more  regularly  sing  toge- 
ther."! 

Suidas,  in  his  Lexicon,  on  the  word  Xopo$,  says, 
U  The  choirs  of  churches  were,  in  the  time  of 
Constantius,  and  of  Flavian,  Bishop  of  Antiock* 
(between  the  years  S37  and  404)  divided  into  two 
parts,  who  sang  the  Psalms  of  David  alternately : 


*  The  Council  of  Laodicea,  held  in  A.  D.  314  (or  319)  forbid*  all 
persons  to  sing  in  the  church,  except  the  canonical  singers. 

Johnsonrs  Vad.  JMec. 

f  Though  the  canonical  singers  were,  in  the  early  ages  of  the 
Church,  reckoned  an  inferior  order  of  clergy,  it  was  not  thought 
hecessary  that  their  ordination  should  be  performed  by  a  Bishop ;  for 
a  Presbyter  might  perform  it,  using  the  words  of  the  4th  Council  of 
Carthage  :  "  See  that  thou  believest  in  thine  heart  -what  thou  sing- 
est  with  thy  mouth;  and  approve  in  thy  -works  what  thou  beiievest 
in  thine  heart."       Bingham'.s  Ant.  of  the  Christ.  Ch.  Book  in.  ch.  7. . 


(     I**     ) 

a  practice  which  began  at  Antioch,  and  was  thence 
dispersed  into  all  parts  of  the  Christian  world." 

What  the  moderns  call  choral  music,  or  sing- 
ing in  parts,  was  unknown  both  to  the  Jews  and 
Christians  of  remote  antiquity.  The  choral  mu- 
sic of  the  Temple  service  was  in  unison,  or  ra- 
ther a  triplex  unison  $  the  young  men  sung  the 
air  or  tune  an  octave  above  the  aged,  and  the 
boys  and  females  an  octave  above  the  young  men. 
In  this  way  the  tune  was  sung  upon  three  differ- 
ent pitches  of  the  voice.  This  triplex  unison  is 
what  is  meant  by  the  expression,  as  one,*  in  the 
account  of  a  grand  choral  exhibition  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  Solomon's  Temple  ;  and  is  the  disposi- 
tion of  voice  common  to  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  except  the  Europeans,  who,  ever  since 
the  times  of  Guido,  the  inventor  of  counterpoint, 
have  adopted  the  use  of  artificial  chords  in  all 
their  choral  music. 

To  the  introduction  of  organs  into  the  church, 
we  are  indebted  for  this  taste  for  choral  music. 

Several  of  the  ecclesiastical  writers  mention  the 
Organ  as  an  instrument  that  had  early  "admission 
into  the  Church,  atperiods  somewhat  different  in 
different  countries.  To  Pope  Vetelian  is  ascribed 
its  first  introduction  at  Some,  in  the  7th  century ; 
and  ancient  annalists  are  unanimous  in  allowing, 
that  the  first  organ  that  was  seen  in  France,  was 

*  2  Cliror;.  v.  1!? 


(     1*4     ) 

sent  from  Constantinople,  as  a  present  from  the 
Emperor  Constantine  Copronymus  V.  in  757,  to 
King  Pepin. 

Venerable  Bede,  who  died  in  735,  says  nothing 
•f  the  use  of  organs,  or  other  instruments  in  the 
British  churches  or  convents,  when  he  is  very 
minutely  describing  the  manner,  in  which  the 
psalms  and  hymns  are  chanted.  But  according 
to  the  testimony  of  several  ecclesiastical  histori- 
ans, organs  became  common  in  Italy  and  Ger- 
many during  the  10th  century,  and  in  England, 
and  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  during  the  eleventh. 

About  the  middle  of  the  12th  century,  the 
Gregorian  chants  began  to  be  organized  by  voi- 
ces, in  the  manner  which  was  afterwards  called 
discant,  or  singing  in  parts.  To  some  persons 
this  innovation  gave  great  offence,  and  a  complaint 
against  it  was  preferred  to  Pope  John  XXII.  who, 
with  the  advice  of  his  conclave,  in  1322  issued,  at 
Avignon,  a  Bull,  threatening  excommunication 
against  any  person  or  persons  who  should  con- 
taminate the  chants  of  the  Church.  But  at  the 
end  of  the  Bull  there  is  this  favourable  clause; 
"  It  is  not  our  intention  wholly  to  prevent  the  use 
of  concords  in  the  sacred  service,  particularly 
on  high  festivals,  provided  the  ecclesiastical  chant 
or  plain  song  (canto  fermo)  be  carefully  preserv- 
ed."* 

*  Poet.  Saact  Extraraff.  Commun.  Kb.  iii 


(     145     ) 

The  preclusion  of  change  was  always  a  fa- 
vourite point  with  the  heads  both  of  the  Greek 
and  Roman  Churches  ;  and  all  their  choral  esta- 
blishments seem  to  have  been  made  with  a  re- 
ference to  the  choirs  of  Solomon's  Temple. 

If  we  peruse  the  ecclesiastical  records  of  our 
forefathers,  we  shall  find  that,  during  the  long 
protracted  period*  of  British  submission  to  the 
See  of  Rome,  the  due  celebration  of  the  psalmo- 
dy of  the  sanctuary  was  a  favourite  object  of  the 
rulers  of  it,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 
There  never  was  a  time,  in  which  choral  esta- 
blishments were  deemed  unnecessary  ;  and  rarely, 
and  at  long  intervals,  and  not  without  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  supreme  authority,  were  there  any 
material  alterations  made  in  the  sacred  music. 
Rome  was  the  central  point,  from  which  emanated 
all  the  sacred  music  of  Europe,  and  its  papal 
impress  hath  always  been,  semper  eadem.  Among 
qualifications  for  a  Romish  priest,  none  was 
deemed  of  more  importance  in  the  discharge  of 
the  clerical  function,  than  a  good  ear  and  voice, 
accompanied  by  an  acquaintance  with  sacred  mu- 
sic. Musical  missionaries  were,  from  time  to 
time,  sent  from  Rome  to  Britain,  to  instruct  and 
form  choirs  for  churches  and  convents;  and 
clergymen  of  musical  talents  were  occasionally 
sent  to  Rome,  in  order  to  perfect  themselves  in 

*  About  940  j  ea^s 

N  " 


(     146     ) 

the  art  of  singing  the  canto  fermo,  and  to  obtain 
a  complete  knowledge  of  the  choral  establish- 
ments of  the  Roman  college.  But,  the  English 
were  not  the  only  people  who  enjoyed  those  ad- 
vantages ;  a  similar  intercourse  was  kept  up,  un- 
til the  sera  of  the  Reformation,  between  Rome 
and  every  nation  of  Europe,  which  bowed  to  her 
supremacy.  This  accounts  for  that  similarity, 
and  almost  indentity  of  harmony,  observable  in 
the  sacred  music  of  almost  all  the  nations  of 
Europe,  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation ; — till 
which  period,  little  other  music  was  known  or 
practised,  than  that  of  the  Church  of  Romer 

During  the  Reformation,  it  would  seem,  that 
the  qualifications  of  ear  and  voice,  and  skill  in 
music,  necessary  for  a  Popish  priest,  were  so 
much  undervalued,  that  the  absence  of  them  was 
a  recommendation  for  admittance  into  the  Pro- 
testant priesthood.  To  w  hat  else  can  it  be  ascribed, 
that,  among  the  various  denominations  of  Protest- 
ants, the  clergy  are  generally  less  conversant 
with  music,  and  its  application  to  the  service  of 
Almighty  God,  than  with  any  other  branch  of 
science  ? 

But,  although  an  acquaintance  with  the  psal- 
mody of  the  Church  is  not  made  a  requisite  in  our 
candidates  for  the  ministry,  yet  it  is  implied  in 
the  last  paragraph  of  the  rubric  before  the  me- 
tre psalms  and  hymns.  The  expression,  "  It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  every  minister,  with  such 


(  fcfr  ) 

assistance  as  he  can  obtain  from  persons  skilled  in 
music,  to  give  order  concerning  the  tunes  to  be 
sung,  at  any  time,  in  his  church,*'  verily  supposes 
every  minister  to  be  possessed  of  such  a  measure 
of  skill  in  music,  as  admits  of  receiving  assistance ; 
for  without  this,  every  thing  beyond  the  minis- 
ter's own  capabilities,  is  nothing  else  than  direc- 
tion. Indeed,  both  the  paragraphs  of  this  ru- 
bric are  as  propitious  to  the  minister's  being  di- 
rector of  the  music  and  psalmody  of  his  church, 
as  the  rubrics  before  and  throughout  the  several 
offices  constitute  him  director  of  the  prayers  of 
the  church.  Nor  could  the  case  be  otherwise, 
for  all  the  offices  of  public  worship  are  choral, 
that  is,  antiphonal  services.  The  minister  alone 
recites  the  prayers  and  supplications,  and  the 
people,  as  a  chorus,  respond  the  Amens  and  suf- 
frages. The  minister  alone  recites  the  first  veiv 
sicle  of  each  appropriate  act  of  praise,  and  the 
singers  of  the  choir  and  congregation  respond  in 
one  chorus. 

Because  the  minister  alone  leads  the  prayers 
of  a  congregation,  an  opinion  is  entertained  by 
some  persons,  that  a  clerk  alone  is  capable  of 
conducting  the  psalmody.  Were  a  congregation 
as  well  acquainted  with  the  music,  as  they  are 
with  the  prayers; — were  there  no  more  disneulty 
in  singing  in  time  and  tune,  than  there  is  in  sav- 
ing the  responses  ; — and  did  a  congregation  sing 
with  energy,  zeal,  and  understanding,  so  as  to 


(  m  ) 

stand  in  no  need  of  a  stronger  body  of  voice  to 
guide,  direct,  and  control  them,  than  what  an 
individual  is  capable  of  emitting,  a  solitary  clerk 
might  be  their  conductor.  But,  when  we  take 
into  the  account  the  general  ignorance  of  people 
in  sacred  music,  the  carelessness  of  some,  and 
the  impotency  of  others,  it  is  evidently  a  matter 
of  necessity,  that  a  choir  should  have  the  con- 
ductorship  of  the  psalmodic  offices,  so  that  they 
may  be  celebrated  with  propriety,  dignity,  and 
animation,  as  becometh  "  the  beauty  of  holiness.'* 

An  opinion  hath  been  advanced  that  an  organ 
supersedes  the  necessity  of  having  a  choir :  but 
this  is  a  mistake,  for  it  is  much  easier,  and  more 
natural  for  the  untutored  ear  and  voice  of  a  pro- 
miscuous assembly  to  keep  in  time  and  tune  with 
the  human  voice,  than  with  instrumental  sounds, 
be  they  ever  so  perfect.  The  organ  was  never  in- 
tended to  direct  the  music  of  a  congregation,  but 
to  be  an  auxiliary  to  the  choir,  to  enable  it  the 
more  effectually,  as  well  as  the  more  easily,  to 
discharge  the  office  of  conductorship.  In  an  or- 
chestra of  many  instruments,  the  organ  never 
leads,  it  only  serves  to  fill  up  the  harmony  with 
its  combination  of  chords,  and  varieties  of  stops. 

The  universal  consent  of  the  Christian  world 
hath  always  maintained,  that  God's  "  most  wor- 
thy praise"  is  best  set  forth  by  regular  choirs, 
and  that  the  sole  use  of  organs  in  churches  con- 
sists in  a  subserviency  to  these,  as  faithful  eo- 


(     149     ) 

ailjutofs.  "  Such  is  the  natural  imbecility  of  the 
human  voice,  that  few  can  keep  to  the  pitch  in 
which  a  tune  is  begun,  especially  in  long  hymns, 
or  a  succession  of  many  verses.  Consequently 
the  congregation,  as  experience  shows,  is  gradu- 
ally sinking  its  voice ;  yea,  the  voice  of  each  in- 
dividual sinks  in  a  different  degree,  so  that  the 
longer  the  singing  is  continued,  the  more  griev- 
ous the  dissonance  becomes.  To  remedy  this  im- 
perfection, a  support  is  wanting;  and  this  support 
is  justly  expected  from  the  assistance  of  instru- 
mental music  ;  for  the  firmest  and  most  powerful 
voice  of  the  Precentor  (leader  of  the  choir)  is 
borne  down  by  the  weight  of  the  sinking  mul- 
titude. Instrumental  music  therefore,  if  thus 
applied,  being  not  improper  in  the  house  of  God, 
(having  been  once  appointed,  and  never  forbidden) 
organs  were  introduced  into  the  Church."* 

In  opposition  to  choirs,  as  well  as  to  the  use 
of  organs  in  public  worship,  a  novel  opinion  hath 
been  advanced,  that  no  instrumental  music  is 
suitable  to  the  Christian  Church. 

The  eye  and  the  ear  may  be  considered  as  re- 
lative senses.  The  eye  divides  light  into  seven 
colours,  and  the  ear  divides  sound  into  seven 
notes ;  and  each  of  the  seven  prismatic  colours, 
when  measured  on  a  plane  surface*  is  exactly 
equivalent  to  its  corresponding  note  in  the  ga- 

*  Preface  to  the  Tune  Book  of  the  Church  of  the  United  Br€ 
thren. 

n  2 


(     150     ) 

mut,  as  delineated  on  a  Diapason  scale.  «  This 
is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvellous"  to  our 
eyes,  and  no  less  so  to  our  ears !  It  is  also  mar- 
vellous, that  the  eye  and  the  ear  are  the  only  or- 
gans of  perception,  which  have  ever  derived  any 
co-operation  or  assistance  from  mechanical  aids  ; 
and  that,  whilst  the  other  senses,  which  refuse 
auxiliaries,  are  liable  to  be  cloyed  with  satiety ; 
the  eye,  glad  of  assistance,  is  never  satisfied 
(satiated)  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear,  with  all  its 
instrumental  aids,  weary  with  hearing,  The  eye 
is  open  during  the  hours  of  light  only ;  the  ear  is 
equally  open  during  the  hours  of  light  as  of  dark- 
ness ;  to  it  "  the  darkness  and  the  light  are  both 
alike." 

There  is  no  stage  of  human  life  in  which  the 
ear  fmdeth  not  pleasure  and  profit  from  miiiical 
sounds  properly  applied ; — pleasure,  as  a  relaxa- 
tion from  corporeal  or  mental  fatigue; — profit, 
as  an  auxiliary  to  devotion,  and  the  effusions  of 
gratitude.  From  the  nursery  rattle  and  whistle 
up  to  the  ecclesiastical  organ,  infancy  and  old 
age  derive  appropriate  delights. 

The  ear  courts  the  company  of  instrumental 
music,  as  naturally  as  the  eye  courts  the  aid  of 
glasses;  and  although  the  human  voice  tran- 
scends the  tones  of  the  mosi  perfect  instruments, 
as  far  as  the  works  of  the  Creator  excel  the  in- 
ventions of  man,  yet  the  ear  is  fain  to  add  to 
the  voice  those  graces,  which  are  easily  elicited 


(     151     ) 

from  instruments,  but  are  difficult  of  execution 
by  the  human  organs  of  sound. 

Is  it  not  then  as  unreasonable  to  reject  the  use 
of  instrumental  aids  to  the  voice,  in  celebrating 
the  praises  of  Almighty  God,  as  it  would  be  to 
reject  the  use  of  glasses,  to  aid  the  eye  in  read- 
ing his  holy  word  ?  Little  do  those  persons,  who 
are  opposed  to  the  use  of  instruments  in  the  ser- 
vice of  their  Creator,  think  of  their  inconsist- 
ency, in  approbating  the  use  of  bells  (which  are 
musical  instruments  as  well  as  organs,  violins, 
clarinets,  &c.)  to  convoke  his  worshippers  to  the 
house  of  prayer  and  praise ! 

The  spirit  of  God  inspired  the  prophets  with 
skill  to  compose  psalms  and  hymns  of  praise  to 
Jehovah,  and  under  the  immediate  direction  of 
the  same  spirit,  the  principals  of  the  twenty-four 
courses  or  choirs  of  musical  Levites  presided 
over  the  service  of  song  in  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  David 
established  the  most  numerous  choir  that  ever 
existed  on  this  earth ;  and  the  appointed  auxilia- 
ries to  the  voices  were  "  all  manner  of  instru- 
ments made  of  fir  wood,  even  harps,  psalteries, 
timbrels,  cornets,  trumpets,  and  cymbals."*  Now 
all  this  vocal  and  instrumental  apparatus  (which 
was  once  enjoined,  but  never  prohibited)  was  for 


*  This  choir  consisted  of  288  vocal,  and  4000  instrumental  per- 
formers.   1  Chron.  xxiii,  5,  and  xxv.  6, 7. 


(     152     ) 

the  express     purpose   of   "  making  Jehovah's 
praise  to  be  glorious." 

"  How  ill  then  does  it  become  mortal  man  to  re- 
probate that  which  God  hath  appointed  for  his 
own  glory !  What  presumption  to  think  of  reject- 
ing choirs  and  instruments  of  music  from  the  as- 
semblies of  the  saints,  when  the  King  of  saints, 
during  the  days  of  his  residence  upon  earth,  ap- 
probated them  by  his  presence,  and  now,  seated 
on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  assigns 
them  a  station  around  his  throne ! 

It  is  granted,  that,  in  the  Church  Militant, 
choirs  are  apt  to  monopolize  the  singing;  but 
this  is  principally  owing  to  the  fluctuating  nature 
of  metre  music.  Some  tunes  are  so  full  of  «  the 
spirit  of  heaviness,"  that  the  young  will  not  learn 
them  ;  others  are  so  light  and  airy,  that  the  aged 
cannot  learn  them ;  and  thus  no  congregation  will 
ever  be  able  to  sing  the  unsatisfying  variety 
which  originates  in  singing  schools.  This  has 
always  been,  and  ever  will  be  the  case  with  metre 
tunes;  but  with  regard  to  prosaic  music,  it  is 
quite  otherwise.  Such  is  its  assimilation  to  the 
psalms  and  hymns  of  the  Church,  that  the  words 
dignify  the  music,  and  the  music  animates  the 
words,  so  that  the  tunes  are  soon  learned,  easily 
remembered,  and  once  learned  remembered  for 
ever.  As  to  their  introduction  into  a  church, 
that  may  be  effected  without  the  aid  of  a  choir, 
provided  the  clerk,  instead  of  saying  the  Doxo- 


(    iw    ) 

logy  after  the  psalms  and  hymns  of  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer,  chants  it  to  the  appropriate 
music  of  the  psalm  or  hymn  to  which  it  is  affixed. 
And  thus,  each  psalm  and  hymn,  after  the  con* 
tinuanee  of  this  practice  for  a  few  months,  may 
easily  be  sung  in  the  proper  music  of  its  own 
Doxology. 

It  is  not  a  little  surprising  to  think,  how  in- 
ventive of  objections  and  obstructions  the  spirit 
of  opposition  to  the  primitive  way  of  setting  forth 
God's  "  most  worthy  praise,"  hath  been  for 
nearly  three  centuries,  and  still  is !  Were  there 
no  authority  for  those  usages  to  be  found  in  scrip- 
ture, it  would  be  more  excusable  to  depreciate 
them;  but  both  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
yield  permanent  proofs  of  their  divine  appoint- 
ment and  approbation.  At  the  dedication  of  So- 
lomon's Temple,  "  It  came  even  to  pass,  as  the 
trumpeters  and  singers  were  as  one  to  make  one 
sound  to  be  heard  in  praising  and  thanking  the 
Lord,  and  when  they  lifted  up  their  voice  with 
the  trumpets,  and  cymbals,  and  instruments  of 
music,  and  praised  the  Lord,  saying,  For  he 
ts  good,  for  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever:  that 
then,  the  house  was  filled  with  a  cloud,  even  the 
house  of  the  Lord ;  so  that  the  priest  could  not 
stand  to  minister  by  reason  of  the  cloud ;  for  the 
Glory  of  the  Lord  had  filled  the  house  tff  God."* 

*   2  Chron.  v.  11,    &c.     "  For  he  is  good,  kc."  was  the    grand 
Chorus  of  this  celebration. 


(     15*     ) 

From  other  Books  of  the  Old  Testament  it  ap- 
pears, that  the  24  courses  or  choirs  of  the  Le- 
vitical  ceconomy  were  as  essential  to  the  setting 
forth  Jehovah's  "  most  worthy  praise,"  as  the 
24  courses  or  fraternities  of  the  priests  were  to 
the  oblation  of  the  Liturgy  and  the  attendant 
sacrifices.  Nor  did  this  choral  establishment 
cease  to  exist,  in  consequence  of  the  Babylonish 
captivity:  though  its  duties  were  interrupted  dur- 
ing that  period,  yet  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  revived 
and  invigorated  it  after  the  re-building  of  the 
temple;  and  with  various  honours  or  depres- 
sions, according  to  the  prosperity  or  adversity  of 
the  nation,  it  subsisted  until  the  annihilation  of 
the  Jewish  civil  and  religious  polity,  by  the  arms 
of  the  Romans. 

That  choirs  and  prosaic  psalmody  are  appror 
bated  in  the  New  Testament,  no  person  can  deny, 
who  reads  the  account  of  the  heavenly  host  or 
choir,  chanting  forth,  in  prosaic  diction,  the-mys'- 
tery  of  redeeming  love  at  the  moment  of  the  in- 
carnation;— of  our  Lord's  joining  frequently  in 
the  choral  services  of  his  Mother  Church; — of 
the  Apostles  and  first  Christians,  even  for  some 
time  after  the  ascension,  being  continually  in 
the  temple  "  praising  God"  in  conjunction  with 
the  successors  of  the  choirs  established  by  David ; 
— and  of  the  choral  celebrations  of  divine  praise 
performed  by  the  cherubim,  angels,  and  spirits 


(     155     ) 

of  just  men  made  perfect,  around  the  throne  of 
the  Most  High. 

The  choirs  of  the  temple  have  been  succeeded 
by  those  of  the  Church,  as  they  are  to  be  suc- 
ceeded by  the  choirs  of  the  redeemed  «  in  glory 
everlasting."  And  thus,  glory  hath  been  as- 
cribed to  the  Triune  God,  under  one  dispensation 
of  types  and  shadows,  under  another  of  "  grace 
and  truth,"  and  ever  will  be  under  the  dispensa- 
tion of  "  glory,  honour,  and  immortal  life." 

It  is  evidently  the  design  of  the  Creator,  that 
men  should  be  associated  for  the  purpose  of  cho- 
ral praise ;  for,  to  what  other  purpose  were  a 
musical  ear  and  voice  bestowed  upon  them  ?*  God, 
in  his  wisdom,  hath  allotted  two  very  different 
conditions  of  voice  to  the  male  sex,  and  but  one 
to  the  female.  The  voices  of  boys,  until  the  age 
of  manhood,  are  almost  feminine,  a  certain  de- 
gree of  clangor  being  the  only  mark  of  difference. 
At  the  commencement  of  manhood,  the  intona- 
tion is  always  lost,  or  so  confused,  that  the  voice 
runs  into  fourths,  fifths,  or  octaves;  and  this 
state  of  confusion  renders  the  voices  of  young 
men  altogether  unmusical  for  an  indeterminate 
space  of  time.  After  the  organs  of  sound  have 
undergone  their  appointed  change,  the   voice  as- 


*  Qusere.  To  what  can  it  be  ascribed,  tbat  all  of  us  approbate,  and 
t  »ke  so  much  delight  in  the  choral  performances  of  the  songsters  of 
the  groves;  and  some  of  us  show  so  >nuch  opposition  to  choral  per 
formanees  in  the  assemblies  of  the  s 'tints'. 


(     156     ) 

gumes  either  a  remote  alliance  with  the  feminine 
intonation,  or  settles  down  upon  the  Bass,  an 
octave  below  its  puerile  condition  ;  but^  the  bril- 
liancy and  smoothness  of  the  female  voice  conti- 
nue the  same,  or  nearly  so,  even  to  the  extreme 
verge  of  life. 

For  what  purpose,  it  may  be  asked,  hath  God 
made  all  these  arrangements  of  the  human  voice, 
if  not  for  the  express  purpose  of  enabling  us,  with 
more  varied  notes  and  inflexions,  and  with  greater 
combinations  of  sounds,  to  make  his  praise  to  be 
glorious,  and  our  hearts  to  rejoice  before  him  ? 

Under  a  pretence  that  the  voices  of  boys  change, 
and  become  for  a  while  incapable  of  taking  a 
part  in  psalmody,  little  attention  is  paid  to  their 
tuition  in  the  science  of  sacred  music ;  it  is  no 
longer  a  branch  of  public  education  ;*  and  the 
admonition,  "  train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he 
should  go,"  is  so  much  neglected,  that  the  organs 
of  voice  and  ear,  for  want  of  cultivation  and  ex- 
ercise when  they  are  flexible  and  docile,  become 
so  rigid  and  untunable  in  many  persons  after  they 
have  arrived  at  maturity,  that  the  performance 
of  a  duty,  which,  in  youth  had  been  easy,  nay 


*  Chaucer,  in  his  "  Prioresse  Tale  of  the  Littel  Scole  of  Christen 
7  forms  us  that  in  his  time,  the  chants  of  the  Church  werr 

taught  in  common  \vith  reading. 

"  Children  lerned  yere  by  yeie, 
Swiche  manere  doctrine  as  men  used  there; 
This  is  to  9hv,  to  sing  en  an' I  to  ride" 

Chaucer  died  in  140*. 


(  *to  ) 

pleasant  to  learn,  becomes  in  advanced  years  la- 
borious to  most  persons,  impossible  to  some,  and 
ungracious  to  all. 

At  the  age  when  the  masculine  tenor  or  bass- 
voices  commence,  young  men  generally  begin 
their  career  of  life.  The  apprentice  and  jour- 
neyman can  hardly  spare  one  evening  in  a  week 
*o  practise  psalmody.  The  pupil  at  school  is  said 
to  be  too  young  to  learn  to  sing  the  songs  of  Zion ; 
and  it  is  -questioned  whether,  amidst  his  other 
studies,  time  could  be  spared  for  sacred  music. 
The  student  at  college  calculates,  that  as  the 
study  of  sacred  music  is  no  where  inscribed  on 
those  pavements,  whereon  collegiate  honours 
stand,  it  is  an  unnecessary  accompaniment  to  li- 
terature, and  therefore  may  very  properly  be 
omitted.  The  young  gentleman  of  family  and 
fortune  is  apt  to  think  it  beneath  his  dignity,  to 
study  the  music  of  the  psalms  and  hymns  of  pub- 
lic worship,  in  the  society  of  his  inferiors,  and 
that  it  is  quite  sufficient  for  him  to  contribute  his 
quota  of  the  clerk  and  organist's  salary.  And, 
do  we  not  frequently  observe  some  of  the  most 
influential  characters,  who  are  known  to  be  no 
enemies  to  music,  and  to  be  possessed  of  a  suf- 
ficient measure  of  voice  and  ear,  sitting  demurely- 
silent  during  the  oblations  of  vocal  praise?  Little 
do  such  characters  think  how  operative  their  ex- 
ample is  upon  the  general  mass  of  a  congregation. 
It  is  like  to  cold  water  poured  upon  a  dormant 
Q 


(     158     .) 

lire,   instead  oi"  the  excitement   of  a  vivifying 
breath  of  air. 

An  acquaintance  with  secular  music  is  not  al- 
ways propitious  to  what  is  sacred ;  nay,  frequently 
the  reverse.  How  often  have  we  seen,  in  a  do- 
mestic circle,  females  possessed  of  exquisitely  fine 
voices,  of  the  most  delicate  ear  and  refined  taste, 
sometimes  with,  and  sometimes  without  an  in- 
strumental accompaniment,  warbling  forth  some 
trifling  song,  pouring  out  the  most  mellifluous 
notes  with  all  the  graces  which  the  science  of 
music  affords ;  who,  alas !  in  the  house  of  God, 
are  seen  sitting  mute,  as  if  bereft  of  ear,  bereft 
of  voice,  and  as  if  they  had  no  interest  in  their 
Almighty  Maker's  praise— as  if"  they  cared  for 
none  of  those  things  V9 

But  this  is  all  to  be  placed  to  the  account  of  the 
tyrant  fashion,  and  to  a  mistake  in  early  educa- 
tion. 

Pardon,  amiable  readers,  pardon  my  thus 
holding  up  your  error  for  you  to  look  at  it.  I 
place  it  before  your  eyes,  with  a  hope  that  your 
ingenuous  minds  will  acknowledge  the  truth  of 
the  remark,  and  be  instantly  led  to  correct  your 
error. 

As  to  our  sex,  how  musical  and  even  vocifer- 
ous are  they  apt  to  be  around  the  festive  board  ? 
When  conversation  begins  to  flag,  and  the  ebuli- 
lions  of  wit  and  humour  have  partly  evaporated, 
a  song  becomes  in  request.     Then,  he,  who  could 


(     159     ) 

not,  or  would  not  join  in  singing  the  songs  of 
Zion,  in  the  house  where  "  the  bread  of  his 
God"  is  exhibited,  and  the  cup  of  salvation 
standeth  full,  raiseth  his  voice  like  a  trumpet, 
and  sings,  or  joins  in  singing  some  favourite 
fashionable  song,  more  proper  for  a  votary  of 
Venus  or  Bacchus  than  a  worshipper  of  the 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth ! 

If  the  alms  of  the  Centurion,  with  his  prayers 
and  praises,  ascended  up  before  God,  as  memo- 
rials of  his  benevolence  of  heart  and  rectitude  of 
intention,  we  may  justly  fear,  lest  such  songs  as 
are  calculated  to  inflame  the  passions,  pervert  the 
affections,  and  alienate  the  heart  from  God, 
should  also  ascend  to  heaven,  and  there  become 
accusers  of  all  such  as  take  pleasure  in  them. 

Glory  not  in  your  claims  to  the  title  of  Chris- 
tian, ye  who  can  sing  in  your  social  hours,  and 
vet  decline  to  unite  your  voice  with  the  minstrelsy 
of  heaven.^  Your  voices,  your  ear,  your  fine 
taste  were  never  designed  to  enable  you  to  act 
the  pagan ;  they  were  given  you  for  the  purpose 
of  enabling  you,  so  much  the  more  gracefully  to 
act  the  Christian. 

In  social  life,  there  is  no  person  to  be  found, 
who  delights  not  in  hearing,  or  in  singing  the 
songs  which  accord  with  his  ruling  propensities ; 
and  whether  they  are  virtuous,  or  whether  they 
are  vicious,  when  clothed  in  a  musical  dress, 
iheir  charms  are  not  only  multiplied,  but  their 


(     160     ) 

power  of  doing  good  or  evil  is  mightily  strength- 
ened. In  an  appropriate  clothing  of  harmony, 
sacred  offiees  become  more  lovely  and  engaging 
in  the  ears  of  a  worshipping  assembly;  and  de- 
corated with  the  ornaments,  which  music  can 
always  lend,  irreligious,  and  even  trifling  sub- 
jects become  more  meritrieious  and  seductive. 
And  of  what  are  the  songs  of  the  pure  in  heart 
the  certain  indications  ? — of  their  purity.  What 
are  the  songs  of  the  impure  in  heart,  but  the  de- 
tectors of  their  inward  depravity  ? — Are  not  the 
frivolous,  trifling,  and  perverse  affections  of  the 
heart  frequently  displayed  in  corresponding  looks, 
gestures,  and  tones  of  voice  ?  The  whole  of  the 
human  race,  unless  the  most  consummate  hypo- 
crisy prevent  it,  exhibit,  as  occasions  offer,  visible 
or  audible  tokens  of  inward  perceptions,  arising 
from  fear  or  hope,  pleasure  or  pain ;  and  these 
are  more  or  less  commensurate  to  the  degree  of 
delight,  indifference,  or  abhorrence,  with  which 
the  cause  and  its  effect  are  contemplated. 

On  this  principle  it  is  that  the  worldling  and 
ihe  impure  in  heart  are  dull  and  languid,  during 
the  service  of  Almighty  God;  but  active,  joyous, 
and  happy,  when  engaged  in  the  service  of  their 
darling  pursuits. 

It  is  well  known,  that  music  and  songs  are  an 
indubitable  index  of  the  affections  and  disposi- 
tions  of  the  heart ;  and  that  such  as  a  person's 
ivourite  songs  and  music  are,  such  are  his  ruling 


I     161      ) 

propensities.  A  person,  therefore,  may  as  correctly 
discover  to  himself  the  true  state  of  his  heart, 
by  recollecting  what  sort  of  music  and  songs 
please  him  the  most,  as  he  can  ascertain  the  com- 
plexion and  features  of  his  countenance,  by  "  be- 
holding his  natural  face  in  a  glass." 

"  Show  me  his  music  and  songs,"  said  a  sage 
of  ancient  times,  *  and  I  will  show  you  the 
man."* 

Seeing  then  that  secular  songs  and  music  are 
so  very  operative  on  the  human  heart,  as  to  be- 
come the  never-failing  indices  of  its  desires  and 
propensities  ;  it  is  evidently  proper,  and  even  ne- 
cessary, that  music  should  accompany  the  words 
of  the  songs  of  Zion,  in  order  to  produce  their 
full  operation  upon  the  heart  of  a  worshipping 
assembly.  For  a  setting  forth  God's  most  wor- 
thy praise,"  an  organ  may  be  made  an  useful 
auxiliary,  a  choir  may  act  as  a  faithful  conduc- 
tor; but  these  are  insufficient  of  themselves 
without  the  united  voice  of  the  whole  congrega- 
tion. It  is  as  much  an  act  of  sacrilege  to  with- 
hold from  God  the  praises  due  unto  his  name,  as 
it  is  to  apply  to  a  secular  purpose  any  of  those 
things  which  have  been  dedicated  and  consecrated 
to  it.  And  it  ought  to  be  remembered,  that, 
when  in  baptism  our  whole  man  was  devoted  to 


*  Judge  Hale.  A  writer  of  his  life  reports,  that  he  also  said, 
"■'  Let  me  be  ballad-maker  for  the  nation,  I  care  not  who  are  leg-is- 
?ator*"  & 

0  2 


(     162     ) 

God,  our  ears  and  voices  were  component  parts 
of  that  dedication. 

In  the  concluding  collect  of  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer,  our  verbal  prayers  are  said  to 
be  offered  up  to  Almighty  God  "  vdth  one  ac- 
cord;" and  by  parity  of  reason,  our  vocal  pray- 
ers, called  by  the  general  expression  "  God's 
most  worthy  praise,"  ought  to  be  presented  to 
him  «  with  one  accord"  also.  But  «  the  most 
worthy  praise"  of  Jehovah  cannot  be  celebrated 
"  with  one  accord,"  unless  the  "  young  men  and 
maidens,  old  men  and  children,"*  unite  in  har- 
monic accordance,  with  one  heart,  and  with  one 
voice.  It  is  therefore  the  duty  of  every  one,  who 
hopes  to  join  in  the  harmony  of  the  choirs  of  the 
redeemed  of  the  Lord  around  the  throne  of  in- 
effable glory,  to  join  either  verbally  or  vocally 
with  the  choirs  of  the  redeemed  in  the  sanctuaries 
of  the  Church  militant;. 

With  a  view  of  exciting  the  members  of  our 
/ion  to  cherish  the  canonical  psalmody  of  the 
Church,  I  beg  leave  to  solicit  their  attention  t» 
the  following  "  Reasons,  briefly  set  down,  to  per- 
suade every  one  to  learn  to  sing,"  found  on  the 
back  of  the  title-page  of  a  work  entitled, «  Psalms, 
Songs,  and  Sonnets,  &e."  by  the  celebrated  com- 
poser Mr.  Bird,  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Chapel  Royal  of  Edward  VI.  printed  in  3,  4,  h 
and  6  parts*  A.  D.  1611. 

*  Psalm  Gsiyiii.  tit. 


(     163     ) 

«  1st.  It  is  a  knowledge  easily  taught,  and 
quickly  learned,  when  there  is  a  good  master, 
and  an  apt  scholar. 

"  2d.  The  exercise  of  singing  is  delightful  to 
nature,  and  good  to  preserve  the  health  of  man. 

"  3d.  It  strengthens  all  the  parts  of  the  breast, 
and  opens  the  pipes. 

"  4th.  It  is  a  singular  good  remedy  for  a  stutter- 
ing and  stammering  in  the  speech. 

"  5th.  It  is  the  best  means  to  preserve  or  to  pro- 
cure a  perfect  pronunciation,  and  to  make  a  good 
orator. 

M  6th.  It  is  the  only  way  to  find  out  where  nature 
hath  bestowed  the  benefit  of  a  good  voice ;  which 
gift  is  so  rare,  that  there  is  not  one  among  a 
thousand  that  hath  it ;  and  in  many,  that  excel- 
lent gift  is  lost,  because  they  want  art  to  express 
nature. 

"  7th.  There  is  not  any  music  of  instruments 
whatsoever  comparable  to  that  which  is  made 
by  human  voices,  when  the  voices  are  good,  and 
the  same  well  sorted  and  ordered. 

"  8th.  The  better  the  voice  is,  the  meeter  it  is  to 
honour  and  serve  God  therewith ;  and  the  voice 
of  man  is  chiefly  to  be  employed  to  that  end. 

"  Omnis  spiritus  laudet  Dominum.9* 

It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  music  has  shar- 
ed the  same  fate  with  other  precious  gifts  of  God* 


(     16*     ) 

and  that  with  them  it  has  been  forced  into  the 
service  of  iniquity,  and  compelled  to  become  an 
incentive  to  vice;  but  this  ought  to  stimulate  the 
Christian  to  use  his  best  endeavours  to  restore  it 
to  its  primitive  and  sacred  use,  and  as  a  grateful 
return  to  the  Giver  of  all  good  gifts,  employ  this 
noble  talent  in  his  service.  And  as  it  is  the  boun- 
den  duty  of  choirs  to  observe  the  strictest  decency 
and  order*  that  they  may  prove  acceptable  con- 
ductors of  the  appointed  acts  of  praise ;  so  ought 
they  to  "  believe  in  their  hearts  what  they  sing 
with  their  mouths,  and  approve  in  their  works 
what  they  believe  in  their  hearts,"  that  so  God 
may  be  glorified  by  their  ministry. 

Having  exhibited  the  nature,  character,  and 
utility  of  choirs,  it  is  next  in  order,  to  offer  some 
remarks  concerning  the  duty  of  an  organist. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  true  and  beneficial  effect 
of  an  organ,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
organist  should  enter  into  the  spirit  of  his  office, 
and  be  actuated  by  the  same  principle  which  di- 
rects every  officer  of  the  household  of  God; 
otherwise  he  not  only  neglects  his  call,  but  be- 
trays his  trust.  No  person  in  a  church  more 
readily  betrays  his  inattention  and  want  of  true 
devotion,  than  an  organist ;  nor  is  it  to  be  won- 
dered at,  that  many  sincere  and  devout  persons, 
consider  an  organ  improper  in  the  church,  when 
perhaps  they  have  never  heard  one  properly  used. 
An  organist  of  correct  taste  and  sound  principles 


(     165     ) 

would  think  himself  highly  culpable,  were  he, 
by  the  interspersion  of  heterogeneous  decorations, 
to  defeat  the  ends  proposed  by  his  office.  Such 
an  organist,  possessed  but  of  few  powers  as  to 
execution,  will  prove  of  more  real  benefit  to  the 
church,  than  the  most  skilful  performer  desti- 
tute of  Christian  principles,  who  plays  for  no 
other  end  than  that  of  securing  his  salary. 

Let  the  following  considerations  therefore  bo 
duly  appreciated  by  our  organists. 

1st.  It  is  highly  expedient  that  an  organist  be 
a  churchman ;  that  he  properly  understand  and 
Yalue  the  Prayer  Book;  that  he  enter  into  the 
spirit  of  "  God's  most  worthy  praise  f9  that  he 
continually  bear  in  mind  the  importance,  the  so- 
lemnity, and  the  sacredness  of  his  office ;  and 
that  his  duty  consists,  not  in  gratifying  the  sensual 
ear,  but  in  exciting  the  devout  affections  of  the 
heart. 

2d.  The  organist  ought  to  commit  to  memory 
all  the  tunes  (whether  chants  or  metre  tunes) 
appointed  by  the  minister  at  any  time  to  be  sung 
in  his  church,  so  as  to  be  able  to  play  them  with 
ease,  gracefulness,  and  affection ;  and  that  he 
may  the  more  promptly  adapt  the  stops,  the 
chords,  and  the  time  itself,  to  the  immediate 
subject  of  the  psalm  or  hymn,  whose  music  he 
is  playing.  For  however  necessary  it  may  be 
that  the  general  ratio  of  time  be  preserved  both  by 
the  organist  and  the  singers ;  yet,  as  the  subjects 


(     166     ) 

of  the  hymn  change  from  praise  to 'petition,  from 
triumphant  gratitude  to  humble  supplication,  and 
vice  versa; — so  ought  the  time,  as  well  as  the 
stops  also,  in  which  they  are  sung,  vary  in  a  due 
proportion.  Uniform  strict  time  throughout  is 
too  artificial  and  mechanical  either  to  excite,  or 
to  accompany  the  various  movements  of  devo- 
tional feelings  in  the  Christian  worshipper  ,•  and 
therefore  the  time  of  the  music,  to  have  its  pro- 
per effect,  ought  to  he  regulated  according  to  the 
varying  strains  of  the  subject,  and  the  affections 
to  which  they  are  commensurate.  Without  a 
change  of  the  time,  a  change  of  the  stops  will 
produce  little  better  efFect  than  the  playing  a 
tune  first  in  a  major  and  then  in  a  minor  key. 
This  remark  applies  particularly  to  chanting, 
which  is  not  tied  down  to  the  mechanical  system, 
to  which  metre  music  is  subjected.  But  in  this, 
great  judgment  and  discretion  are  to  be  exercised. 

3d.  In  order  to  refresh  the  memory,  and  excite 
the  affections  of  the  congregation,  it  is  expedient 
that  the  organist  play  over  the  tune  (whether  it 
be  a  chant  or  a  metre  tune)  as  a  prelude  to  the 
singing;  that  the  interludes  between  the  verses 
be  short,  not  exceeding  the  time  usually  allowed 
to  a  period  in  good  reading;  and  that  the  inter- 
ludes be  adapted  to  the  subject,  leading  gently 
and  insensibly  into  the  succeeding  strophe. 

4th.  The  organ  should  at  no  time  overpower 
and  drown  the  voices,  but  yet  have  sufficient 


(     167     ) 

strength  of  sound  to  prevent  their  sinking ;  and 
the  stops  should  he  varied  according  to  the  variety 
in  the  subject,  so  as  to  render  the  instrumental 
sounds  as  much  as  possible  an  echo  to  the  sense. 
For  chanting,  the  swell  and  the  choir  organ 
ought  to  be  used  in  general,  and  the  full  organ 
in  doxologies,  and  the  most  triumphant  acts  of 
praise  only,  as  full  choruses. 

5th.  The  softer  the  organ  is  played,  the  more 
graces  are  admissible ;  and  the  louder,  the  greater 
simplicity  is  required.  Where  there  is  a  choir, 
the  organist  ought  to  play  all  the  chords  of  tho- 
rough bass ;  but  where  there  is  no  choir,  simpli- 
city of  chords  is  preferable ;  as  thereby  the  air 
of  the  chant  or  metre  tune  will  be  the  better  dis- 
tinguished and  followed  by  the  congregation. 

6th.  The  organist  should  always  bear  in  mind* 
that  a  psalm  or  hymn  is  not  sung  for  the  sake  of 
the  music;  but  that  the  music  is  used  for  the 
sake  of  the  psalm  or  hymn. 

7th.  As  to  voluntaries like  intruders  into 

the  service  of  Almighty  God,  they  consume  time 
unnecessarily  and  unprofitably,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  do  they  feed  a  desire  for  the  amusements 
of  the  theatre,  rather  than  promote  the  devotion 
of  the  sanctuary.  It  appears  that  voluntaries 
crept  into  the  church  without  authority,  since 
the  Reformation  $  and  are  retained  in  it  by  mere 
sufferance. 

If  the  appointed  psalms  and  hymns  of  the 


(     168     ) 

Morning  and  Evening  Services  were  chanted,  as 
they  always  ought  to  be,  there  would  be  no  va- 
cuum either  in  the  heart  or  in  the  ear,  to  be  filled 
up  with  an  inarticulate  voluntary ;  and  as  the  fes- 
tivals of  the  Church  require  a  more  than  usual 
quantity  of  music,  an  appropriate  anthem  would 
better  comport  with  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion, 
than  any  assemblage  of  the  most  delicious  sounds 
which  an  organ  is  capable  of  emitting.  A  vo- 
luntary is  but  a  miserable  substitute  for  chanting 
the  psalms  of  the  <lay ;  and  the  singing  of  a  dox- 
ology,  or  gloria  in  excelsis,  ought  in  all  good 
conscience,  to  supersede  it.  But  if,  to  gratify 
a  fastidious  taste  for  the  music  of  the  orchestra, 
voluntaries  must  be  retained,  let  them  be  under 
proper  regulations,  and  performed  in  subjection 
to  the  rubric.  To  render  them  as  unexceptiona- 
ble as  possible,  let  the  organist  play  a  regular 
discant  upon  one  of  the  chants,  or  one  of  the 
metre  tunes,  as  a  ground;  this  practice  would 
serve  two  purposes,  that  of  recreation,  and  as  a 
remembrancer  to  the  congregation.  In  this  way 
the  chants  may  be  introduced  with  the  greatest 
ease,  anil  if  repeated  at  proper  intervals,  the 
music  would  ingratiate  itself  with  the  people, 
and  become  familiar,  and  fixed  in  their  memories. 
By  duly  appreciating  these  suggestions,  mu- 
sicians would  cause  the  organ  to  be  well  spoken 
of,  and  to  be  a  valuable  auxiliary  to  devotion : 
but  every  deviation  from  them  tends  to  make 


(     **     ) 

it  to  be  evil  spoken  of,  and  to  defeat  the  very  pur- 
pose, for  which  it  hath  a  station  in  the  house  of 
God. 

Should  a  question  arise  concerning  the  number 
of  parts  admissible  into  a  church,  the  answer 
turns  upon  the  consideration  of  its  having,  or 
not  having  a  choir.  If  it  has  no  choir,  the  Air 
or  first  Treble  with  the  Bass  only  should  be  al- 
lowed. These,  well  sung  throughout  a  church, 
will  have  a  better  effect  without  the  other  parts 
than  with  them;  because,  when  the  singers  of 
the  four  parts  are  scattered  fortuitously  through- 
out a  church,  the  more  chorded  the  music  is,  so 
much  the  more  discordant  it  will  be.  To  make 
the  harmony  of  four,  or  even  of  three  parts  per- 
fect, it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  a  competent 
number  of  the  best  singers  be  located  in  some 
suitable  part  of  the  church,  where  the  effect  of 
their  voices  may  be  the  most  operative  in  direct- 
ing the  general  voice  of  the  congregation.  All 
the  members  of  a  choir,  placed  within  a  certain 
compass  of  space,  stand  in  the  same  relation  to 
each  other  as  the  pipes  of  an  organ,  or  as  the 
several  instruments  in  an  orchestra,  constituting, 
as  it  were,  one  large  and  complex  instrument — 
one  as  to  unity  of  design,  and  one  as  to  unity  of 
performance. 

As  a  choir  of  twenty  good  singers  are  quite 
sufficient  to  direct  and  give  a  proper  tone  to  the 
P 


(  i*0  ) 

pinging  of  any  of  our  largest  congregations ;  let 
them  be  apportioned  thus ; 

Eight  to  sing  the  Bass ; 

Six,  the  Air  or  first  Treble,  commonly 
called  the  Tune ; 

Four,  the  second  Treble ; 

And,  two,  the  Counter  or  Alto. 
As  the  Bass  is  the  foundation  or  basis  whereon 
the  upper  parts  stand,  and  by  the  strength  of 
which  they  are  supported,  it  is  rarely  possible  to 
make  it  too  powerful,  provided  the  tones  are- 
smooth  and  even.  It  bears  the  same  relation  to 
the  upper  parts,  that  the  Base  in  Architecture 
does  to  the  shaft  with  its  entablature  and  orna- 
ments. Proportion  must  regulate  the  one  as 
well  as  the  other;  in  the  one  case,  to  gratify  the 
correct  eye ;  in  the  other,  to  please  the  chaste 
ear ;  according  to  the  musical  adage,  "  When  the 
Bass  goes  well,  all  goes  well." 

But  the  principal  melody  of  the  piece  lies  in 
the  Air  of  the  tune,  or  first  Treble,  and  it  ought 
to  be  always  performed  with  strength  and  bril- 
liancy of  intonation.  When  the  Air  is  sung  by 
men,  it  loses  much  of  its  energy  and  effect;  but 
when  sung  by  females,  the  acuteness  of  their 
voices  renders  it  predominant,  and  it  becomes 
a  distinct  center  for  the  ether  parts  to  move 
around  it.  In  the  Air,  the  words  are  best  ar- 
ticulated and  distinguished,  and  it  meets  the  tu~ 


(  m  ) 

tored  and  the  untutored  ear  with  acceptance  and 
delight.  Too  much  pains,  therefore,  cannot  be 
taken  in  learning  to  perform  tiiis  part  with  ac- 
curacy, with  elegance,  and  with  religious  dig- 
nity. 

The  Editors  of  the  Monthly  Anthology  have 
well  treated  this  subject,  saying,  "  The  princi- 
pal Air  is  the  soul  of  the  piece,  it  ought  to  be 
more  distinctly  heard,  and  its  effect  should  be 
heightened  as  much  as  possible  by  the  auxiliary 
efforts  of  the  other  parts.  Giving  the  character 
to  the  piece,  it  ought  to  be  placed  in  the  most 
conspicuous  station,  and  assigned  to  those  voices 
which  are  naturally  the  most  expressive  of  melo- 
dy. The  voices  of  women  are  one  eighth  higher 
than  those  of  men ;  they  are  more  flexible,  and 
consequently  more  capable  of  the  graces  of  mu- 
sic. Good  trible  voices  exceed,  on  a  moderate 
calculation,  the  number  of  good  tenor  voices,  in 
the  proportion  of  twenty  to  one.  On  account, 
therefore,  of  the  superior  delicacy  of  the  female 
voice,  and  of  the  greater  number  of  trible  per- 
formers, to  them  ought  to  be  assigned  the  prin- 
cipal air  of  the  piece.  Owing  to  the  general  de- 
ficiency in  musical  science,  which  characterizes 
American  masters,  and  to  the  almost  total  want 
/of  refinement  in  the  public  ear,  the  ancient  prac- 
tice of  giving  the  Air  to  the  tenor,  and  casting 
the  trible  voices  into  the  shade,  still  prevails. 
Male  performers  resist  the  improvement  with  a 


(     172     ) 

zeal  similar  to  (hat,  with  which  they  would  resist 
an  invasion  of  (heir  natural  or  political  rights : 
but  they  are  contending  against  nature,  and 
against  science,  and  the  contest  must  finally  be 
vain.  We  find  that  the  violin,  the  haulboy,  the 
flute,  and  indeed  the  greatest  proportion  of  mu- 
sical instruments  strive  to  imitate  the  treble.  The 
female  voice  has  been  in  all  ages  the  favourite  of 
genius.  It  was  designed  to  be  (he  soul  of  har- 
mony, and  to  inspire  delight.  Whoever  pos- 
sesses any  refinement  of  soul,  owns  its  claim  to 
precedence,  and  delights  even  in  its  tyrannical 
sway.5' 

To  the  Air,  the  second  Treble  ought  always  to 
act,  not  as  an  assuming  rival,  but  as  an  attentive 
handmaid;  and  as  the  Counter  contains  but  a 
minimum  of  the  Air,  so  ought  it  to  be  sung  with 
a  minimum  of  voice.  It  completes  the  chord  of 
each  note  of  the  Air,  and  gives  an  agreeable  zest 
to  (he  whole,  provided  it  be  sung  with  judgment 
and  taste — but  otherwise,  it  is  intolerable. 

In  churches  without  organs,  it  frequently 
happens,  that  the  pitch  notes  are  given  too  low, 
to  admit  of  the  deepest  notes  of  the  Bass;  or  too 
high,  to  allow  the  highest  notes  of  the  Air  and 
upper  parts  to  be  uttered  with  ease  and  distinct- 
ness; therefore  the  use  of  a  pitch-pipe,  or  a  me- 
tallic tuner,  may  be  recommended. 

It  is  also  advisable,  that  there  be  in  every  choir 
a  principal  director,  who  ought  always  to  sing 


(  m   ) 

the  Bass ;— .a  principal,  together  with  an  instru- 
mental performer,  on  the  Air,  and  on  each  of  the 
other  parts.     The  instruments  may  be, 

A  Bassoon,  or  Drawing  Trumpet  on  the  Bass ; 

A  Clarinett  on  the  Air  or  first  Treble ; 

A  Hautboy  on  the  second  Treble  ; 

And  a  Hautboy  on  the  Counter. 

Stringed  instruments  would  be  preferable,  were 
it  not  on  the  account  of  tuning,  and  the  prejudices 
of  mankind. 

Having  thus  shown  the  antiquity,  universality, 
and  utility  of  choirs  and  instrumental  music,  in 
a  setting  forth  the  most  worthy  praise"  of  Al- 
mighty God,  I  hope  the  reasons  which  have 
been  adduced  for  their  continuance  will  be  ad- 
mitted by  every  unprejudiced  mind.  I  well  know, 
however,  that  some  will  believe  the  words  I  have 
written,  and  some  will  not ;  for  there  are,  as  there 
always  have  been,  some  of  the  wisest  men,  and 
of  the  greatest  talents  in  other  particulars,  who 
have  not  musical  discernment  sufficient  to  distin- 
guish between  good  and  bad  music,  even  between 
one  tune  and  another.  And  yet,  some  of  these 
great  and  wise  men  in  other  particulars,  have 
thought  themselves  qualified  to  write,  talk,  and 
decide  about  music,  in  a  more  peremptory  manner, 
than  those  of  the  greatest  feeling  and  genius, 
who  have  long  made  it  their  particular  study. 

Wherever  an  opposition  to  choirs  and  chanting 
exists,  it  is  generally  fomented  by  persons  of  the 
P  ^ 


(  17*  ) 

above  description.  From  the  female  part  of  the 
community  no  objections  to  choirs  and  good  sing- 
ing are  ever  offered;  and  hence  we  may  infer, 
that  if  the  males  were  as  propitious  to  choirs  as 
the  females  are,  every  obstruction  to  cathedral 
music  would  be  easily  surmounted.* 

Whilst  shame  and  confusion  of  face  belongs  to 
our  sex,  for  their  backwardness  to  devote  their 
ears  and  voices  to  the  glory  of  God  in  acts  of  vo- 
cal praise  and  gratitude;  to  the  female  sex  much 
commendation  is  due.  We  behold  that  more  de- 
vout and  pious  part  of  our  species  in  greater  num- 
bers at  the  altar  and  in  the  choir;— .a  token  that 
their  hearts  are  better  attuned  to  the  harp  of 
David,  and  more  obedient  to  the  command  of 
Jesus.f 

O  ye  pious  and  devout  souls,  how  much  indebt- 
ed are  we  to  you,  for  the  religious  impressions  of 
ouryounger  years,  for  your  nursing  care  both  of 
our  souls  and  of  our  bodies !  Your  song  lulled  us 
to  sleep  in  our  cradles,  and  your  voices  exhilarate 
our  hearts  to  sing  glory  to  God  in  his  sanctuary, 
Your  society  cheers  us  amidst  the  manifold  chan- 
ges of  this  mortal  life,  and  when  our  spirits  re- 


*  The  introduction  of  chanting  into  eertain  ehurches  hath 
been  accused  of  exciting  disquiets,  and  unpleasant  feelings  in  the 
minds  of  some  devout  people.  Christianity  itself  lay  under  a  simi- 
lar imputation. — In  consequence  of  the  nativity  of  Christ,  Herod 
was  troubled,  and  ailJerusalem  with  him.  At  Philippi,  St.  Paul  was 
the  innocent  cause  of  a  mob ;  and  the  common  epithet  bestowed  upon 
ibe  apostles  was,  "  Turners  of  the  world  upside  down!" 


(     175     ) 

turn  to  God  who  gave  them,  to  you  it  belongs  to 
close  our  eyes  in  death. 

Decorated  with  "  the  ornaments  of  a  meek 
and  quiet  spirit,"*  cultivating  with  the  two  evan- 
gelical Marys  a  love  for  your  Redeemer,  the 
warmth  of  which  our  sex  pretend  not  to  equal, 
— go  on  to  take  delight  in  the  offices  of  religion, 
and  glory  in  your  goodly  practice  of  visiting  the 
temple  of  your  God,  and  of  pouring  forth  your 
most  mellifluous  notes  to  the  honour  and  praise  of 
his  ever-glorious  and  adorable  name.  "  Let  the 
word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly,  in  psalms 
and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs/'  making  melody 
with  your  hearts  and  voices  unto  the  Lord.  Thus 
prepared  on  earth,  ye  will  in  due  time  be  called 
to  join  the  choirs  of  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  in 
glory  everlasting. 

In  ecstacy  of  joyful  anticipation,  I  behold  you 
with  the  myriads  uf  your  brethren  standing  in 
shining  circles  around  the  throne  of  the  Ancient 
of  days,  with  voices  sweet  as  the  harps  of  Angels, 
clothed  in  white  robes,  and  with  palms  in  your 
hands,  singing,  Salvation  to  our  God,  who  sit- 
ieth  upon  the  throne,  and  to  tlie  Lamb,  for  ever 
and  ever.    Amen.    Hallelujah.    Amen. 

*  "  Adorn  yourselves  (says  Tertullian)  with  the  virtues  to  be  found 
in  the  prophets  and  apostles.  Let  simplicity  be  your  white,  chastity 
your  vermilion  ,•  dress  your  eye-broivs  with  modesty,  and  your  lips 
with  reservedness.  Clothe  yourselves  with  the  silk  of  probity,  the 
fine  linen  of  sanctity,  and  the  purple  of  chastity. 

"  Jf  God  finds  you  thus  adorned,  he  will  love  you  himself." 

Tertul  ad  Uxoret, 


(     1™     ) 

OBJECTION  XVI, 

"  It  is  sufficient  to  chant  one  hymn  at  Morn- 
ing, and  another  at  Evening  Prayer." 

REPLY. 

To  give  a  musical  accompaniment  to  one  hymn 
at  Morning,  and  to  one  hymn  at  Evening  Prayer, 
whilst  the  others  are  refused  a  similar  measure 
of  attention,  would  certainly  be  giving  an  undue 
preference  to  the  chanted  ones  over  the  merely 
read  ones.  But,  if  a  congregation  are  capable 
of  vocalizing  one  act  of  God's  "  most  worthy 
praise"  in  the  morning,  and  another  in  the  even- 
ing, they  are,  or  may  easily  become,  capable 
of  vocalizing  the  whole  complement  of  praise. 

If  it  be  a  good  thing,  once  at  Morning  Prayer 
and  once  at  Evening  Prayer,  to  appear  in  the 
presence  of  God  with  a  song ;  certainly  it  is  no 
less  so,  to  sing  all  the  appointed  praises  of  the 
Lord,  for  memorials  of  his  holiness,  nay,  to  pre- 
sent ourselves  before  him  "  compassed  about  with 
songs  of  salvation." 

"Where  is  the  person,  who,  in  the  Venite  sings 
unto  the  Lord,  and  heartily  rejoices  in  the  strength 
of  his  salvation,  can  be  cold  and  lifeless,  and  re- 
fuse to  chant  either  the  Gloria  Patri,  or  the  Glo- 
ria in  Excelsis? 


(     **     ) 

Who  is  be  that  professes  himself  a  member  of 
«  the  holy  church  throughout  the  world,"  who 
will  on  any  account  whatsoever,  except  that  of 
deficiency  of  voice  and  ear,  set  his  practice  and 
profession  so  much  at  variance,  as  to  refuse  to 
celebrate  the  praises  of  God  in  the  words  of  the 
Te  Deum? 

Does  any  person  think  so  lightly  of  the  fine 
arts  and  sciences,  which  are  founded  upon  the 
works  of  creation  and  their  several  analogies,  as 
not  to  feel  an  exultation  of  heart  sufficient  to 
eause  him  to  set  forth  the  Creator's  "  most  wor- 
thy praise"  in  the  words  of  the  Benedicite? 

Or  can  that  heart  be  any  thing  else  than  a 
stranger  to  the  fervors  of  devotion,  and  dead  to 
every  principle  of  the  spiritual  life,  who  refuses, 
in  the  words  of  Jubilate,  to  be  joyful  in  the  Lord, 
and  to  come  before  his  presence  with  a  song? 

Are  there  any  of  our  communion,  who  arc 
so  insensible  of  "  the  inestimable  love  of  God  in 
the  redemption  of  the  world,  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  or  so  ungrateful  for  "  the  means  of 
grace,"  and  so  indifferent  to  «  the  hope  of  glory," 
as  to  resolve  to  «  bless  the  Lord  God  of  Israel" 
for  <(  visiting  and  redeeming  his  people,"  in  the 
words  of  the  Benedktus,  with  a  meek  and  humble 
voice  of  supplication,  in  preference  to  a  full  and 
harmonious  one  of  praise  ? 

What  churchman,  who  hath  got  a  measure  of 
ear  and  voice  sufficient  for  "  singing  unto  the 


(     178     ) 

Lord  a  new  song,"  in  the  words  of  Caniait 
Domino,  will  not  acknowledge,  in  the  words  of 
Bonum  est  conjiteri,  that,  "  it  is  a  good  thing  to 
give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  and  to  sing  praises 
unto  the  name  of  the  Most  Highest  ?" 

What  estimate  can  we  make  of  his  devotion, 
or  even  of  his  courtesy,  who,  in  Deus  miscreatur, 
invites  "  all  nations  to  rejoice  and  he  glad,"  and 
twice  repeats  the  invitation,  "  Let  the  people 
praise  thee,  O  God ;  yea,  let  all  the  people  praise 
fhee  f  and  at  the  same  time  excuses  himself 
from  participating  in  the  entertainment  to  which 
he  hath  so  cordially  invited  them  ? 

And,  if  there  lodges  in  the  hreast  of  any  Chris- 
tian, gratitude  enough  to  entitle  him  to  the  cha- 
racter ;  can  he,  with  any  satisfactory  pretences, 
excuse  himself  from  setting  forth  God's  "  most 
worthy  praise,"  in  the  Benedic  anima  mea  $  Can 
he  refrain  from  lifting  up  his  voice  on  high,  when 
he  pronounces  the  words,  "  Praise  the  Lord,  O 
sny  soul ;  and  all  that  is  within  me  praise  his  holy 
name.  Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget 
not  all  his  benefits.  O  praise  the  Lord,  all  ye 
works  of  his,  in  all  places  of  his  dominion." 
Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  fail  not  to  show 
forth  all  the  appointed  praises  of  the  God  of  thy 
salvation  "  within  the  ports  of  the  daughter  of 
Zion." 
Jn  the  third  petition  of  our  Lord's  Prayer  we 


(     «*     ) 

are  taught  to  pray,  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth, 
as  it  is  in  heaven." 

Of  the  service  performed  by  the  heavenly  host, 
psalmody  is  the  most  exalted  part,  if  not  the 
whole;  and  of  what  kind  of  psalmody  the  hal- 
lelujahs of  the  celestial  choirs  consist,  both  as 
to  subject,  form,  and  manner  of  performance, 
St.  John  hath  given  us  ample  information  in  his 
Apocalypse.  The  subject  is  ascriptions  of  glory 
and  praise  ;  the  form  is,  not  metrical,  but  purely 
prosaic;  and  the  manner  of  celebrating  these 
acts  of  praise  is  not  simply  saying,  but  singing 
them  with  "  a  loud  voice,"  «  the  voice  as  of  a 
multitude,"  "  the  voice  as  of  many  waters." 

Similar  to  the  acts  of  praise  presented  to  God 
by  the  choirs  of  the  Church  triumphant,  are  the 
acts  of  praise  interspersed  throughout  the  offices 
of  that  branch  of  the  Church  militant,  to  which 
we  belong ;  but  alas !  our  manner  of  presenting 
them  to  God  is  dissimilar.  We  but  read  our  acts 
of  praise,  when  the  heavenly  host  sing  theirs. 
In  the  performance  of  our  psalmodic  worship, 
manner  is  an  inseparable  adjunct  both  to  form 
and  matter ;  for  the  petition  expresses  manner  in 
the  word  as  as,  or  in  like  manner  as  it  is  done 
in  heaven. 

Therefore,  when  we  pray,  «  Thy  will  be  done 
on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven,"  we  express  a  hearty 
desire  that  the  praises  of  the  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth  may  be  celebrated  by  his  saints  upon  earth, 


(     180     ) 

with  similar  forms  of  praise — with  a  similar  ele- 
vation of  voice — and  with  similar  affections  of 
heart,  to  those  of  the  celestial  worshippers.  In 
the  use  of  this  petition,  we  not  only  pledge  our- 
selves to  copy  after  the  heavenly  pattern,  hut 
also  promise  to  use  our  hest  endeavours  to  pro- 
mote the  intent  and  fulfilment  of  the  petition,  to 
its  full  extent ;  that  so,  in  all  things,  and  par- 
ticularly in  our  acts  of  praise,  God  may  he  glo- 
rified on  earth,  as  he  is  glorified  by  the  hallelu- 
jahs of  the  blessed  spirits  in  heaven. 

Fired  at  the  thought  that  we  are  capable, 
through  the  blessing  of  God  upon  our  endeavours, 
of  uniting  our  voices  and  praises  with  the  voices 
and  praises  of  the  heavenly  host  around  the 
throne;  well  may  we  exclaim,  "  Blessed  is  the 
man  who  trusteth  in  the  Lord  ;  yea,  blessed  is  the 
man  whose  strength  is  in  thee,  in  whose  heart 
are  thy  ways.  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for 
they  shall  see  God.  Blessed,  Lord,  are  they 
that  dwell  in  thy  house,  they  will  be  ahvays 
praising  thee." 

«<  We  praise,  and  bless,  and  acknowledge  thee, 
both  in  heart  and  voice ;  even  Thee,  O  Father, 
begotten  of  none ;  Thee,  O  Son,  the  only  begot- 
ten of  the  Father;  Thee,  O  Holy  Ghost,  eter- 
nal Comforter.  To  this  Holy  and  Undivided 
Trinity  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen."* 

*  Augustine's  Med.  p.  23. 


(     181     ) 


OBJECTION  XVII. 

a  No  prayers  ought  to  be  sung;  and  therefore, 
as  chanting  embraces  precatory  subjects,  it  is 
improper  to  be  admitted  into  the  church." 

REPLY. 

Every  minister,  whether  he  thinks  of  it  or  not, 
pronounces  the  prayers  with  a  confirmed  inflex- 
ion of  voice.  This  inflexion  is  a  musical  accom- 
paniment to  the  words  which  he  pronounces, 
and  might  be  written  on  lines  and  spaces,  were 
there  a  gamut  expressive  of  all  the  changes  of 
the  human  voice  throughout  the  five  or  six 
notes,  by  which  elocution  is  bounded.  All  ver- 
bal intercourse,  as  well  as  reading  and  preach- 
ing, admits  of  the  same  remark.* 

As  a  stimulus  to  devotion,  as  well  as  a  pre- 
ventative of  that  sluggishness  in  sacred  duties, 
to  which  our  sinful  natures  are  subjected;  from 
the  earliest  ages  of  Christianity,  regular  melodies 
have  been  devised,  to  attend  the  responses  and 
other  prominent  parts  of  public  worship,  whether 
deprecatory,  supplicatory,  or  eucharistie;  so 
that,  whilst  the  people  joined  in  pronouncing  the 
same  word  at  the  same  time,  with  one  heart  and 

*   See  Herries  on  Elocution, 


(     182     ) 

with  one  mouth,  they  might  also  unite  in  a  pro- 
perly regulated  intonation  of  voice  adapted  to  the 
subject. 

Before  I  enter  upon  an  analysis  of  the  question, 
it  seems  proper  to  remark,  that  though  chanting 
the  supplications  in  the  Decalogue  may  not  be 
strictly,  but  interpretatively,  authorized  by  the 
rubric,  an  objection  to  chanting  them,  because 
they  are  precatory,  would  be  made  with  a  very 
ill  grace,  when  all  the  penitential  psalms,  and 
the  42d  hymn,  which  is  called  a  "  Prayer  for 
Ministers,"  are  rubrically  allowed  to  be  sung  in 
rhyme. 

If  it  be  allowable  to  sing  any  precatory  subject 
in  rhyme,  why  not  the  same  subject  in  prose? 

The  supplication  after  each  of  the  first  nine 
commandments  is  expressed  thus ; 

"  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us,  and  incline  our 
hearts  to  keep  this  law." 

In  the  9th  verse  of  the  51st  metre  psalm,  there 
is  a  similar  supplication,  in  these  words : 

"  Blot  out  my  crying  sins, 

nor  me  in  anger  view ; 
Create  in  me  a  heart  that's  clean, 

an  upright  mind  renew." 

The  supplication  after  the  Tenth  Command- 
ment is  expressed  thus : 


/ . 


(     183     ) 

«  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us,  and  write  all  these 
thy  Laws  in  our  hearts,  we  beseech  thee." 

In  the  rhyme  form,  a  similar  supplication  is 
contained  in  the  51st  Psalm,  verse  1. 

"  Have  mercy,  Lord,  on  me, 

as  thou  wert  ever  kind  j 
Let  me,  oppress'd  with  loads  of  guilt* 

thy  wonted  mercy  find." 

And  119th  Psalm,  verse  5th* 

**  O  then  that  thy  most  holy  will 

might  o'er  my  ways  preside* 
And  I  the  course  of  all  my  life 

by  thy  direction  guide." 

Verse  10th. 

«  With  hearty  zeal  for  thee  I  seek? 

to  thee  for  succour  pray ; 
O  suffer  not  my  careless  steps 

from  thy  right  paths  to  stray ." 

Each  of  these  quotations  is  a  form  of  prayer ; 
and  the  principal  difference  between  them  is, 
that  the  one  is  expressed  in  prose,  and  the  other 
in  rhyme.  By  what  authority  then  does  it  be- 
come lawful  to  sing  the  above,  or  any  similar 
prayer  in  rhyme,  and  unlawful  to  sing  the  same 
in  prose? 


(     18*     > 

"  Can  forms  of  prayer  be  deem'd  a  crime, 
Merely  for  the  want  of  rhyme  ?" 

The  objection  to  chanting  the  suffrages  to  the 
Decalogue  cannot  be  supported  either  by  scrip- 
ture, or  by  argument,  when  the  rubrics,  by  fair 
construction,  do  not  forbid  it ;  and  when  almost 
every  rhyme  psalm  that  is  allowed  to  be  sung  in 
our  churches  contains  more  or  less  of  prayer 
and  supplication.  Indeed,  it  is  equally  impossi- 
ble, from  scripture,  or  from  reason,  to  disprove 
the  lawfulness  of  singing  prosaic  prayers  and 
praises,  as  it  is  to  prove  the  lawfulness  of  sing- 
ing rhyme  or  metrificd  prayers  and  praises. 

The  word  prayer,  as  a  noun,  or  in  the  verbal 
form,  occurs  in  the  Psalms  frequently; — sixty- 
seven  of  the  Psalms,  in  their  capitations,  are 
called  prayers,  and  the  20th  verse  of  the  72d 
Psalm  (Bible  translation)  says,  "  The  prayers  of 
David,  the  son  of  Jesse,  are  ended."  Now,  if  the 
objector  is  steady  to  his  purpose,  on  the  pretence 
that  precatory  subjects  ought  not  to  be  sung,  he 
will  disqualify  for  singing  nearly  one  half  of 
the  metre  psalms,  and  also  a  very  great  propor- 
tion of  the  metre  hymns. 

Reasoning  apart;  the  example  of  Paul  and 
Silas  ought  to  silence  this  objection  for  ever. 
"  At  midnight,  Paul  and  Silas  prayed,  and  sang- 
praises  unto  God,  and  the  prisoners  heard  them."*. 

*  Aclsx^i  25. 


(  «»  ) 

This  translation  is  strictly  conformable  to 
Beza's  Latin,  but  not  to  the  original  Greek,  of 
which  the  words  are  irpoG-ev%oi*£vo(  vfuow,  which 
Beza  translates  hymnos  canebant.  Here  the 
word  irporsvxofuioi  is  wholly  overlooked.  Arias 
Montanus'  translation  is,  orantes  laudabant, 
which  is  strictly  conformable  to  the  original ;  and 
in  English  is,  praying  they  praised.  Our  trans- 
lation,  following  Beza's  mistranslation,  makes 
the  devotional  act  of  Paul  and  Silas  to  be  simply 
an  act  of  praise ;  but  the  Greek  text  represents 
it  as  a  compound  act  consisting  of  prayer  and 
praise.  And  this  is  the  general  character  both 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  psalms  and  hymns. 
And  a  good  reason  for  this  combination  of  prayer 
with  praise,  in  the  Christian's  most  exalted  acts 
of  adoration,  arises  out  of  the  union  subsisting 
between  his  temporal  and  his  spiritual  condition, 
his  afflictions  and  his  mercies,  his  means  of  grace 
and  his  hopes  of  glory.  In  the  glorified  state, 
the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  are  never  represented 
as  engaged  in  a  compound  act  of  prayer  and 
praise,  because  hope  is  swallowed  up  in  vision, 
and  faith  in  fruition.  Their  acts  of  adoration 
are  represented  as  being  purely  unmixed,  acts 
of  the  most  refined  gratitude,  acts  of  the  most 
jubilant  joy.* 

*  The  only  instance  of  prayer  simply  so  called,  which  St 
John  hath  recorded,  is-  in  the  10th  verse  of  the  6th  chapter 
of  his  Apocalypse,  where  the  Martyrs  address  God  in  an 

q3 


(     186     ) 

So  contracted  is  prevailing  sentiment  concern- 
ing the  interchangeable  nature  of  prayer  and 
praise,  that  it  would  sound,  not  a  little  queer, 
in  the  ears  of  some  persons,  to  be  told,  that 
they  sang  some  of  their  prayers.  But  it  would 
surprise  no  person  to  be  told,  that  such  an  one 
whispers,  that  such  another  one  mutters  them, 
and  that  a  great  many  only  look  at  them.  And 
is  it  not  the  case,  and  a  lamentable  case  it  is, 
that  some  persons  merely  whisper  those  respon- 
sive prayers,  which  by  the  rubrics  are  allowed 
to  be  sung;  and  that  others  run  those  over,  which 
by  the  rubrics  are  appointed  to  be  said,  with 
such  precipitancy  and  haste,  as  not  to  allow  them 
lime  for  making  any  suitable  impression  upon 
their  minds ;  whilst  the  generality  of  a  congre- 
gation make  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary  re- 
sponses with  so  inarticulate  and  inaudible  a  pro- 
nunciation, as  if  they  were  ashamed  to  speak  out 
in  the  house  of  God ;  or  as  if  they  lived  in  an 
age  of  bloody  persecution,  and  were  afraid  of 
discovering  to  their  persecutors,  that  an  assem- 
bly of  out-la  wed  Christians  was  gathered  to- 
gether ! 

As  in  most  of  the  temporal  concerns  of  life, 
there  is  a  fashion  or  predominant  taste;  so  is 
there  a  fashion  or  over-ruling  taste  displayed  in 
the  manner  of  celebrating  the  offices  of  religion  5 

£xpostulatory  form,  after  the  manner  of  a  chorus,  vow  fjnynxui 
,Wit;h  a  loud  voice. 


C   iw    ) 

as  if  the  duties  thereof  centered  in  ourselves,  and 
had  no  other  object  than  that  of  self-gratification  ; 
as  if  the  religious  fashion,  whatever  it  be,  that 
is  the  most  agreeable  to  our  own  feelings  and  hu- 
mour, did  of  course  please  God  the  most;  and 
as  if  there  were  no  other  criterion  than  that  of 
opinion,  whereby  to  ascertain  the  measure  of 
devotional  propriety.  Thu3,  whispering  the 
JLmens,  and  all  the  responses,  is,  by  many,  thought 
to  be  much  more  genteel,  than  pronouncing  them 
with  an  audible  voice.  Sitting  during  the  times 
of  prayer  is  reckoned,  by  some  of  our  politest 
members,  more  gentleman  and  lady-like,  than 
the  old-fashioned  and  humiliating  practice  of 
kneeling. 

Fashion  frequently  shows  its  superiority  over 
common  sense  and  religious  propriety,  in  com- 
pelling all  the  worshippers  in  a  pew,  after  the 
service  had  commenced,  or  even  had  made  con- 
siderable progress,  to  rise  from  their  knees  and 
evacuate  the  seat,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  ac- 
cess to  some  superior,  who  had  been  belated; 
just  as  if,  in  the  holy  sanctuary,  devotion  to- 
wards God  admitted  of  being  superseded  by  a 
eall  for  the  exercise  of  courtesy  towards  a  fellow 
mortal^ 

The  practice  of  bowing  at  the  name  of  Jesus,* 
though  it  be  an  old-fashioned  one,  is  generally 

*  Isa.  xlv.  23.  and  Rom.  xiv.  1L,    "As  1  live.,  saith  the  Lord, 
eT«ry  k&ee  shaiJ  bo%o  to  me." 


(     188     ) 

observed ;  if  for  no  other  reason,  yet  for  this, 
that  no  inconveniency  attends  it.  But  why  do 
we  bow  at  the  name  of  Jesus  in  the  Gospel,  and 
not  at  all  times,  when  that  blessed  sound  salutes 
our  ears?  Surely  the  rubric  of  gratitude  for  our 
redemption,  and  the  rubric  of  dependance  on  him 
for  final  acceptance,  demand  our  presenting  him 
this  tribute  of  respect  as  often  as  we  hear  or 
pronounce  the  ever-blessed  and  joyful  word,  Jesus, 
the  Saviour. 

Nothing  tends  more  effectually  to  damp  our 
devotion,  and  formalize  our  acts  of  worship,  than 
a  carelessness  and  ease  in  performing  our  reli- 
gious duties ;  than  a  lukewarmness  and  indiffer- 
ence, in  performing  or  omitting  our  proper  parts 
of  them.  The  admonition,  "  Whatsoever  thy 
hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  all  thy  might,"  is 
infinitely  more  applicable  to  things  belonging  to 
the  due  celebration  of  public  worship,  than  to 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  our  temporal  voca- 
tion, as  the  one  looks  only  to  time,  but  the  other 
to  eternity. 

In  these  modern  times  of  what  is  called  ra- 
tional religion,  enthusiasm  is  as  much  deprecated 
as  ever  the  inquisition  was ;  the  affections  are 
hushed  to  sleep,  or  not  permitted  to  manifest 
themselves  in  outward  actions;  and  Christian 
duty,  even  in  the  sanctuary  itself,  is,  alas !  too 
much  reduced  to  a  state  of  philosophic  coldness, 
and  of  uninteresting   decency  of  deportment! 


(     189     ) 

Were  one  of  our  modem,  philosophical  Chris- 
tians carried  in  a  vision,  to  behold  St.  Chrysos- 
tom  (e.  g.)  with  his  Constantinopolitan  Christians 
in  the  church  of  St.  Sophia,  like  a  well  mar- 
shalled army  under  their  heroic  general,  vio- 
lently besieging*  the  throne  of  Grace  with  their 
irresistible  prayers  and  praises ;  at  one  time 
prostrate  in  prayer ;  at  another,  rivalling  the 
thunders  of  the  heavens  with  their  Aniens,  or 
the  trumpet  of  Sinai  with  their  Hallelujahs; 
and  during  their  acts  of  praise  and  exclamations 
of  Amen,  standing  on  tip-toe,  as  if  to  get  so 
much  nearer  heaven ;  would  he  not  pronounce 
them,  Bishop  and  all,  a  set  of  mad  enthusiasts  ? 
And,  giving  an  unmeasurable  preference  to  the 
manners  and  decencies  of  his  own  cotemporaries, 
would  he  not  thank  God,  that  it  was  his  lot  to 
have  been  born  in  a  more  dispassionate  and  ra- 
tional age  of  the  world  ? 


*  St.  Jerome  (TI.  Proem  Com.  in  Gal.)  says,  that  Amen  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  people  in  his  time,  in  such  a  manner,  that  it  resem- 
bled the  sound  of  thunder.  Clemens  Alexandrinus  (Stromat.  Lib.  7) 
sa}  S;  that  in  the  African  Churches,  where  the  people  always  prayed 
standing,  at  pronouncing  Amen,  they  raised  themselves  on  tip-toe, 
to  express  their  earnestness.  And  Jems  himself  (.Matt  ii.  12.)  hath 
informed  us,  that,  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  suj~eret,\  viote7-.ee  > 
find  the  via  lent  take  it  by  force," 


C    190    ) 


OBJECTION  XVIII. 

**  If  the  whole  Book  of  Psalms,  and  other 
Books,  and  parts  of  Books  of  the  Hebrew  scrip- 
tures are  in  poetry,  there  is  no  impropriety  or 
unlawfulness  in  turning  them  into  English,  or 
any  other  vernacular  poetryP  that  they  may  be 
sung  to  ike  tunes  used  in  churehw." 

REPLY. 

When  we  consider  that  the  Bible  poetry  de- 
rives not  its  character  from  measured  feet,  as  all 
European  poetry  uniformly  does;  it  is  evident 
that  scripture  poetry  is  incapable  of  passing  into 
any  form  of  verse,  which  bears  no  analogy  to 
its  original  conformation.* 

There  is  no  similarity  between  Bible  poetry, 
and  the  measures  of  Homer,  Virgil,  Horace,  or 
of  modern  versifiers.  Every  classical  scholar 
knows  the  method  of  scanning  Greek,  Latin, 
French,  and  English  poetry ;  but  rules  for  scan- 
ning the  poetry  of  the  Hebrew  scriptures  have 
eluded  the  search  of  the  most  erudite  and  inqui- 


*  "  The  Hebrew  language,  like  that  of  the  Syrians,  Ara- 
bians, Abyssinians,  &c.  is  incapable  of  the  restraints  of  feet 
or  measures."     Scaliger's  Animad.  in  Chron. 

"  Erant  enim  pu^-fAot  Hebrceorum,  non  tptrpot,  sed  legre 
aoluti,  cujusmodi  etiam  erant,  et  nunc  quoque  sunt,  eorum 
saltationes."     Grot,  in  Luc.  c.  i.  v.  46. 


(  m  ) 

sitive  students.  The  sacred  poetry  of  the  Bible 
is  high  as  heaven,  and  bids  defiance  to  measures, 
which  are  solely  adapted  to  earth.  Like  its  di- 
vine Author,  it  is  not  within  the  grasp  of  human 
ken,  and  incommensurate  to  the  inventions  of 
human  imagination.  "  It  is  a  kind  of  poetry," 
says  Calmet,  (per  se)  "  having  no  parallel  in  the 
poetry  of  human  invention ;  the  most  pompous, 
the  most  majestic,  and  the  most  sublime  that  can 
be  conceived.  The  expression,  the  sentiments, 
the  figures,  the  variety,  the  action,  every  thing 
is  inexpressibly  grand  and  surprising."* 

Should  it  be  asked,  what  are  the  characteris- 
tic marks  which  essentially  discriminate  poetic 
from  prosaic  diction?  Bishop  Lowth  has  given  a 
full  and  satisfactory  answer. 

«  Poetry,  in  every  language,  has  a  mode  of 
speaking  of  its  own,  nervous,  grand,  sounding ; 
enlarged  and  exaggerated  by  words ;  exquisite  and 
elaborate  in  the  composition ;  in  its  whole  habit 
and  colour  different  from  common  custom,  and 
frequently,  as  with  a  liberal  indignation,  burst- 
ing the  bounds  within  which  usual  discourse  is 
contained — Reason  speaks  slowly,  temperately, 
gently;  it  disposes  matters  regularly;  it  marks 
them  out  clearly,  openly ;  it  explains  them  dis- 
tinctly; it  principally  studies  perspicuity,  that 
nothing  may  be  left  confused,  obscure,  or  involv- 

*  See  Calmet  on  the  wo'd;  and  Bishop  Lowth's  Prelections  on 
the  Poeuy  of  the  Hebrews. 


(     192     ) 

ed.  But  the  passions  have  no  regard  to  these 
things.  The  conceptions  flow  rapidly;  they 
struggle  within ;  the  more  vehement  of  these 
rush  forth  temerariously,  as  they  can ;  they  do 
not  seek,  but  seize  hold  of  what  is  vivid,  ardent, 
animated ; — in  one  word,  reason  uses  plain  prose, 
the  passions  speak  poetically."* 

In  regard  to  the  poems  of  the  Hebrews  fall- 
ing into  regular  lines,  often  into  regular  stan- 
zas, according  to  the  pauses  of  the  sentences; 
which  stanzas  and  lines  have  a  certain  parity  or 
proportion  to  one  another,  these  consist  of  verse; 
■ — of  verse  distinguished  from  prose,  not  only  by 
the  style,  the  figures,  the  diction ;  by  a  loftiness 
of  thought,  and  richness  of  imagery;  but  by 
being  divided  into  lines,  and  sometimes  into  sys- 
tems of  lines;  which  lines,  having  an  apparent 
equality,  similitude,  or  proportion  one  to  another, 
are  in  some  sort  measured  by  the  ear,  and  regu- 
lated according  to  some  general  laws  of  metre, 
rhythm,  harmony,  and  cadence. 

V*  hatever  it  might  be  that  constituted  Hebrew 
verse,  it  certainly  did  not  consist  in  rhyme,  or 
similar  and  correspondent  sounds  at  the  ends  of 
the  verses.  And  it  plainly  appears,  that,  as  the 
final  syllables  of  the  correspondent  verses, 
whether  in  distiches  or  triplets,  are  not  similar  in 
sound  to  one  another ;  it  is  manifest,  that  rhyme 

*  Lect.  XIV.  on  the  sacretl  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews, 


C     *93     ) 

OL*  similar  endings  are  not  an  essential  part  of 
Hebrew  verse.  The  grammatical  forms  of  the 
Hebrew  language  in  the  verbs  and  pronouns, 
and  the  plurals  of  nouns,  are  so  simple  and  uni- 
form, and  bear  so  great  a  share  in  the  termina- 
tion of  words,  that  similar  endings  must  some- 
times happen,  and  cannot  well  be  avoided ;  but 
so  far  from  constituting  an  essential  or  principal 
part  of  the  art  of  Hebrew  versification,  they 
seem  to  have  been  no  object  of  attention  and 
study,  nor  to  have  been  industriously  sought  after 
as  a  favourite  accessary  ornament."* 

In  translations  of  the  psalmodic  parts  of  holy 
scripture,  much  more  of  the  poetical  character 
is  retained  in  those  that  are  literal,  than  in  those 
that  are  free.  Of  this  Bishop  Lowth  has  given 
the  following  specimens. 

"  1.  He  hath  made  a  memorial  of  his  wonders  : 
gracious  and  of  tender  mercy  is  Jehovah.  Psalm 
cxi.  *. 

"  2.  Behold !  an  heritage  from  Jehovah  are 
children ;  a  reward,  the  fruit  of  the  womb.  Psalm 
cxxvii.  4. 

"  3.  Trust  ye  not  in  princes;  in  a  son  of  man. 
in  whom  is  no  salvation. 

"  His  breath  goeth  forth ;  he  returneth  to  his 
earth ;  in  the  day  his  thoughts  perish. 

"Jehovah  shall  reign  for  ever;  thy  God,  O 
Zion,  from  age  to  age."    Psalm  cxlvi.  2,  3, 10. 

*  Bishop  Lowth's  Prelim.  Dis.  to  his  Version  of  Isaiah,  p  10. 

R 


(     194     ) 

The  correspondent  versions  in  the  Bible  and 
Prayer  Book  are  mere  prose ;  but  these  retain 
the  outlines  and  the  features  of  the  original,  and 
from  that  cause  alone  are  still  poetry. 

As  a  specimen  of  New  Testament  poetry,  let 
the  celebrated  hymn  recorded  in  the  4th  chapter 
of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  be  presented  to  the 
reader,  distributed  into  verses,  according  to  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  originally  sung. 

"  1.  Lord !  thou  art  God,  who  hast  made  heaven 
and  earth ;  and  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is ; 

"  Who,  by  the  mouth  of  thy  servant  David, 
hast  said ;  Why  did  the  heathen  rage,  and  the 
people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ? 

"  2.  The  kings  of  the  earth  stood  up ;  and  the 
rulers  were  gathered  together ; 

««  Against  the  Lord ;  and  against  his  Christ. 

"  3.  For,  of  a  truth,  against  thy  holy  child  Je- 
sus, whom  thou  hast  anointed ;  Herod,  and  Pon- 
tius Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles ;  and  the  people  of 
Israel  were  gathered  together ;  for  to  do  whatso- 
ever thy  hand  and  thy  counsel  determined  before 
to  be  done. 

«  4.  And  now,  Lord !  behold  their  threatenings ! 
And  grant  unto  thy  servants,  that  with  all  bold- 
ness they  may  speak  thy  word ; 

«  By  stretching  forth  thine  hand  to  heal ; 

tf  And  that  signs  and  wonders  may  be  done,  by 
the  name  of  thy  holy  child  Jesus." 

From  this  specimen,    a  correct  idea  of  the 


(     195     ) 

hymnology  of  the  first  Christians  may  be  formed. 
Unlike  to  the  arts  and  sciences  invented  by  man, 
which  are  susceptible  of  the  improvements  of 
succeeding  times,  Christianity  was  the  purest  and 
most  perfect  at  its  first  promulgation,  and  every 
alteration  or  pretended  improvement  was  verily 
a  diminution  of  its  original  excellency.  Under 
the  immediate  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit  lead- 
ing them  into  all  truth,  and  bringing  all  things 
recorded  in  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  to  their  re- 
membrance, the  Apostles  and  first  Christians, 
whenever  they  prayed  or  sang  praises,  not  only 
availed  themselves  of  their  perfect  knowledge  in 
the  then  existing  scriptures,  but  also  in  their 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Jewish  Church,  that  they  but  adapted  the  forms 
contained  in  them  either  to  particular  circum- 
stances, or  to  the  renovated  state  of  things  under 
the  reign  of  the  Messiah. 

Jesus  Christ  was  no  innovator — no  violent  in- 
discriminating  reformer;  he  always  honoured  the 
religious  solemnities  of  the  Jewish  church ;  and 
his  immediate  followers  never  ceased  to  attend 
the  temple-service,  until  they  were  either  ex- 
communicated, or  forcibly  driven  from  it.  But 
their  ejection  from  the  temple  was  with  them  no 
argument  for  rejecting  either  its  forms  of  prayer 
or  praise.  Indeed,  almost  all  the  forms  of 
prayer  or  praise  recorded  in  the  New  Testament, 
are  extracts  from  the  temple-service. 


(  i»«  ) 

Having  duly  appreciated  these  preliminai-y  ob* 
servations,  we  are  prepared  to  enter  upon  the 
merits  of  the  objection  before  us.  And  as  the 
truth  of  the  proposition  contained  in  the  objection 
has  for  se  many  years,  and  among  almost  all  the 
different  sections  of  the  Reformation,  been  ad- 
mitted ;  it  is  necessary  to  be  precise  in  our  rea- 
sonings and  adductions  of  scripture  to  disprove  it. 
liet  me  therefore  crave  the  reader's  patience  and 
unprejudiced  attention,  whilst  we  reason  together. 

If  we  look  at  the  title-page  of  our  Bibles,  the 
very  first  word  that  presents  itself  is,  Holy, 
"  Holiness  to  the  Lord"  is  the  indelible  super- 
scription on  all  the  revelations  of  the  High  and 
Holy  One  who  inhabiteth  eternity.  And  when  we 
consider  that  the  same  characters  of  sanctity  and 
immutability,  which  belong  to  the  Son  of  God, 
the  Logos  or  Word  incarnate,  are  indiscrimi- 
nately annexed  to  the  Logos  or  Word  of  revelation, 
with  what  awe  and  reverence  must  we  behold  the 
inestimable  volume  ?  That  God,  who  is  jealous 
of  a  rival,  should  share  the  attributes  of  his  ho- 
liness and  immutability  with  the  scriptures,  must 
needs  cause  us  to  stand  in  awe  of  them,  and  to 
exclaim— *How  dreadful  is  this  book!  It  is  none 
other  than  the  Word  which  Jesus  hath  spoken, 
by  which  he  will  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead 
at  the  last  day !  Surely  in  this  book,  life  and 
death  are  set  before  us,  as  it  contains  the  rule  of 
present  action,  and  the  rule  of  future  judgment! 


(    iw    ) 

Whether  the  law  of  the  Most  High  be  written 
or  traditionary,  its  dignity  and  obligation  are  the 
same ;  for  in  every  age  of  the  world,  "  holy  men 
spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 

During  the  protracted  longevity  of  the  ante- 
diluvians, the  Law  was  altogether  oral,  and  per- 
haps retained  in  the  memory  of  the  faithful 
partly  by  the  aid  of  hieroglyphics  or  picture 
writings ;  but  as  the  life  of  man,  after  the  flood, 
was  first  reduced  to  the  contracted  span  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years,  and  then  limited  to 
three  score  and  ten,  it  became  necessary  that 
man  should  be  endued  with  a  knowledge  of  pre- 
serving and  transmitting  the  divine  communica- 
tions, in  a  more  certain  and  diffusable  manner, 
first  by  letter-writing,  and  then  by  printing. 

Recorded  on  the  pages  of  perishable  materials, 
the  xvords  of  eternal  life  now  stand ;  and  if  they 
are  not  written  on  the  tablets  of  our  hearts,  and 
made  the  rule  of  our  inward  thoughts,  and  of 
our  outward  actions,  they  will  stand  up  in  the 
judgment  and  demand  our  condemnation.  If  we 
keep  our  Bibles  shut  as  so  many  sealed  books, 
they  will  not  always  remain  so ;  their  divine  Au- 
thor will  one  day  open  them,  and  we  shall  then 
be  judged  according  to  what  in  them  is  recorded. 

Thiuk  not,  brethren,  because  these  books, 
framed  of  earthly  materials,  shall  indiscrimi- 
nately with  all  other  things,  share  in  the  general 
conflagration*   that  their  contents  shall  be  ex- 


(     198     ) 

punged  or  forgotten :  no !  our  own  memories  will 
retain  large  portions  of  them;  and  could  we  sup- 
pose that  they  will  then  prove  treacherous,  which 
we  can  hardly  admit, — they  will  he  all  remem- 
bered by  their  divine  Author,  for  **  eternal  law 
resteth  in  the  bosom  of  God.'-* 

By  the  original  charter  granted  to  Adam,  man  is 
invested  with  the  power  of  "  subduing  the  earth," 
and  with  "  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea, 
and  over  every  living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the 
earth."f  But  however  this  power  and  dominion 
over  the  works  of  the  Creator's  hands  ma\  have 
been  contracted  after  the  fall,  or  extended  after 
the  flood,  or  amplified  still  more  after  the  advent 
of  Christ ;  no  such  power  and  dominion  hath  ever 
been  given  over  the  tvords  that  have  proceeded 
out  of  his  mouth.  Like  their  divine  Author, 
they  remain  for  ever  and  ever  the  same.  When 
the  earth  and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall 
have  been  consumed  by  fire ;  when  the  very  hea- 
vens shall  have  been  rolled  together  like  a  scroll, 
©r  changed  like  a  vesture,  the  word  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  the  same,  and  his  (its)  years  shall  not 
fail.  "  One  joU  or  tittle  of  the  law  shall  not  fail, 
till  all  be  fulfilled,"  is  the  solemn  declaration  of 
ihe  legislator  himself. 

To  be  the  permanent  textuaries  of  his  holy 
wordy  divine  Wisdom  saw  proper  to  select  the 

»  Hooker's  Esei.  Pclitr.  p.  B.  f  Gen.  i,  2* 


(     199     ) 

Hebrew  and  Greek  languages— «thc  one  copious* 
rhetorical,  and  compounded— the  other  concise, 
majestic,  and  radical.     The  Hebrew  and  Greek 
originals  are  properly  called  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  all  faithful  translations  of  them  are  entitled 
to  that  high  appellation  in  a  secondary  sense  only. 
But  because  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  he 
suffered  not  his  holy  word,  in  the  language  of 
the  Jew  and  in  that  of  the  Greek,  to  be  conceal- 
ed from  other  nations ;  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 
he  sanctioned  translations,  when  his  Holy  Spirit 
enabled   the   Apostles   to  speak   the   wonderful 
works  of  God  in  the  languages  of  all  nations  un- 
der heaven.     But  the   scripture  history  of  that 
memorable  event  hath  given  no  reason  for  believ- 
ing that  the   Holy    Spirit  authorized    versified 
translations  or  paraphrases,  either  of  the  original 
scriptures,  or  of  the  future  prosaic  translations 
of    them.      The    art    of   versification,    in    the 
ancient  or  modern  sense  of  the  word,  seems  to 
have  been  no  part  of  the  donation  of  that  ever- 
memorable   day;    for  all    the  New  Testament 
hymns,  both  in  the  original,  and  in  all  author- 
ized translations,    are    expressed    in    a   diction 
entirely  free  from   the  fetters  and  manacles  of 
measured  feet  and  rhyme. 

In  authorized  translations,  «  the  -vord  of  God 
abideth  for  ever ;"  but  the  word  of  God,  when 
metrified,  ceases  to  be  "  the  law  of  the  spirit  of 
life;"  for  the  poetical  license,  the  leaven  of  hu> 


(     200     ) 

man  imagination,  "  leavens  the  whole  lump."  In 
the  prosaic  form,  we  properly  denominate  every 
authorized  version  of  the  scriptures,  "  The  Bi- 
ble ;"  but  no  well  informed  Christian  will  call  a 
rhythmical  version  by  that  thrice  honourable  ap- 
pellation. 

The  title,  "  The  Psalms  of  David  in  metre," 
at  the  very  first  glance,  suggests  the  idea  of 
their  having  been  compelled  to  undergo  a  meta~ 
morphosis.  And  every  change  is  necessarily  ei- 
ther for  the  better,  or  for  the  worse.  The  word 
metre,  or  measure,  would  seem  to  imply,  that 
the  words  only  of  the  authorized  version  had 
undergone  a  change,  not  of  substitution,  but  of 
order  and  collocation  in  the  several  periods. 
But  this  is  not  all  the  import  of  the  word;  it  ex- 
tends even  to  a  measurement  of  the  sense  and 
sentiment  of  the  subject  to  which  it  is  applied. 
In  point  of  sentiment,  for  the  sake  of  measure, 
many  passages  are  altered,  not  a  few  are  ex- 
changed, and  some  are  wholly  ejected:  so  that 
the  metre  version  and  the  prose  translation  speak 
different  things.  The  interjectional  parts  of  all 
metre  versions  are  so  numerous  that  they  almost 
bid  defiance  to  credibility  itself.  In  the  nature 
of  the  thing,  it  cannot  be  otherwise.  Any  two 
things,  which  are  incommensurate  to  one  an- 
other, can  never  be  made  to  tally.  Sooner  may 
the  quadrature  of  the  circle  be  ascertained  to 
absolute  perfection,  than  the  freedom  of  prose 


(     2»i     ) 

be    made    to    comport    with    the    servitude    of 
poetry. 

If-then  the  Psalms  in  a  metrical  form  cannot 
be  called  scripture ;  so  neither  in  strict  propriety 
can  they  be  called  a  human  composition.  And  if 
they  can  neither  be  called  scripture,  nor  a  human 
composition,  under  what  class  of  writings  ought 
they  to  be  ranged  ?  The  subject  is  divine,  pre- 
cious as  the  most  fine  gold.  To  this  as  a  head, 
the  art  of  poetry  hath  subjoined  a  breast  and  arms 
of  silver,  a  belly  and  thighs  of  brass,  legs  of  iron, 
zudfeet  partly  of  iron  and  partly  of  clay  ! 

Such  a  mixture  of  the  purer  with  the  baser 
metals,  nay,  even  with  clay  itself,  must  be  the  re- 
sult, whenever  human  imagination  undertakes  to 
alter,  or  accommodate  to  its  own  taste,  the  dic^ 
iion  and  style  of  any  part  or  parts  of  the  sacred 
and  intactible  volume.  Nay,  every  mixture  of 
the  fruits  of  human  fancy  with  the  holy  scrip- 
tures, is  virtually  prohibited  in  the  following  texts : 
— «  Thou  shalt  not  sow  thy  field  with  mingled 
seed."5* — "  Thou  shalt  not  sow  thy  vineyard  with 
divers  seeds;  lest  the  fruit  of  thy  seed  which 
thou  hast  sown,  and  the  fruit  of  thy  vineyard, 
be  deflled."f 

To  the  natural  philosopher  the  rationale  of 
these  prohibitions  is  obvious ;  and  to  the  Chris- 
tian philosopher,  by  a  transfer  of  ideas,  their 
import  and  propriety  are  equally  discernible. 

*  Levit  xix.  19.  t  DeufaxiL  9. 


(     202     ) 

If  it  be  an  absurd  action  to  put  «  a  piece  of 
new  cloth  to  an  old  garment,"  or  to  put  "  new 
wine  into  old  bottles ;"  it  must  be  equally,  if  not 
more  absurd,  to  put  patches  of  linsey-woolsey 
upon  the  ephod  of  Aaron,  and  to  ingraft  pieces 
of  cloth  of  any  kind  whatsoever  into  the  seamless 
eoat  of  the  blessed  Jesus. 

The  word  of  God  is  a  whole  of  itself,  "  wo* 
ven  from  the  top  throughout ;"  and  every  addi- 
tion, alteration,  or  suppression,  but  tends  to  de- 
base and  destroy  it.  This  talent  has  engaged  the 
search  and  learning  of  pious  men  in  every  ag£ 
and  country;  and  the  internal  in  conjunction 
with  the  external  evidence  of  its  divine  authen- 
ticity, proclaims,  that  it  is  neither  to  be  alloyed 
with  the  fruits  of  human  imagination,  nor  its 
shape  and  superscription  to  be  changed. 

We  are  not  to  suffer  it  to  lay  «  wrapped  up  in 
a  napkin,"  but  rather  to  "  carry  it  to  the  ex- 
changers," the  translators  and  printers,  that 
faithful  duplicates  of  it  may  be  multiplied,  for 
the  purpose  of  enriching  all  nations  that  dwell 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.*  Thus  shall  the  voice 
of  the  Prophets,  of  the  Apostles,  and  of  Jesus 
himself,  be  heard  in  the  Christian  synagogues, 

*  This  is  done  in  Europe  and  America  by  numerous  Bible  socie- 
ties, whom  unborn  generations  shall  call  blessed. 

Next  to  the  Hebrew  original,  in  point  of  antiquity,  stands  the 
Greek  version,  called  tlie  Septuagint,  because  translated  by  seventy 
interpreters,  it  was  made  in  Egypt  about  the  year  l^84  before  Christ, 
The  first  Knglish  version  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  was  print 
*d  ;n  l5'o6-t  and  the  first  s£ereot\  pe  edition  in  1806, 


(     203     ) 

and  from  house  to  house,  speaking  in  all  lan- 
guages, "  the  wonderful  works  of  God,"  and 
showing  the  way  of  salvation,  "  to  all  kindreds, 
tongues,  and  nations,  that  dwell  on  the  faee  of 
the  earth. 

Darting  into  future  times,  the  scripture-actu- 
ated soul  contemplates  the  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
phecy ; — "  As  the  rain  cometh  down,  and  the 
snow,  from  heaven,  and  returneth  not  thither, 
but  watereth  the  earth,  and  raaketh  it  bring  forth 
and  bud,  that  it  may  give  seed  to  the  sower,  and 
bread  to  the  eater;  so  shall  my  word  be  that  go- 
eth  forth  out  of  my  mouth :  it  shall  not  return 
unto  me  void ;  but  it  shall  accomplish  that  which 
I  please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing  where- 
to I  sent  it.99* 

But  where  is  the  person  to  be  found,  who  says 
that  this  prophecy  is  more  likely  to  receive  its 
accomplishment  by  means  of  versified  scriptures, 
than  of  prosaic  ones  ?  No  member  of  any  Bible 
society  has  ever  indulged  so  wild  a  dream.  No, 
so  far  from  it,  that  all  the  Bibles  edited  by  Bible 
societies  are  bound  up  without  metre  psalms. 
The  addition  of  metre  psalms  to  Bibles  distribut- 
ed among  the  Christians  of  the  East  would  mili- 
tate against  their  utility ;  for  they  never  had  any 
knowledge  of  metrified  scriptures,  and  would  be 
apt  to  suspect  the  fidelity  of  the  whole  transla- 

*  Isaiah  lv.  10,  11. 


(     20*     ) 

tkm,  at  beholding  such  an  unwarranted  liberty 
taken  with  one  book  of  it.* 

During  a  period  of  nearly  fourteen  centuries, 
whilst  the  original  scriptures,  and  all  transla- 
tions of  them  were  retained  in  manuscripts,  it  is 
no  matter  of  wonder,  though  some  words  had 
slipt  into  the  text,  some  words  had  been  omitted, 
or  one  word  miss-written  for  another,  through 
the  hurry,  inattention,  or  natural  frailty  of  tran- 
scribers ;  but  by  collating  a  variety  of  manuscripts 
of  different  dates,  and  in  different  languages,  the 
true  and  genuine  reading  has  been  recovered,  and 
the  exact  meaning  of  the  originals  ascertained. 
This  has  been  the  occupation  of  some  of  the 
most  learned  men  of  the  European  world  during 
the  best  part  of  their  lives,  and  grammatical 
knowledge  faithfully  applied  has  proved  a  happy 
substitute  for  immediate  revelation.  Indeed, 
grammatical  precision  is  the  only  human  guar- 
dian of  scripture  veracity. 

Translations  of  holy  scripture  are  so  much  the 
more  perfect,  in  proportion  as  they  are  literal. 
And  hence  it  is,  that  they  must  necessarily  lose 
some  portion  of  the  elegancy  and  sublimity  of 

*  Several  years  since  an  old  African  negro  accosted  the  writer  thus; 
**  Massa!  'merica  churchman  got  two  kinds  of  psalms  ;  African  one, 
David.  Why  two  P  one  good  enough.  God  told  David  good  words; 
who  told  Tet  a  Brady  ?  Tet  a  Brady  mend  David  psalms  ?  No,  no, 
jTiassa,  God  word  nil  good,  good  no  need  mending." 

This  man's  name  was  Primus,  and  oue  of  the  slaves  of  Levin 
Handy,  Esq.  in  Stepney-parish,  Maryland.  He  was  a  well  informed 
Christian,  and  told  the  writer  that  he  had  been  a  communicant  in  the 
Church  of  Carthage. 


(     203     ) 

the  originals.  "  For,  the  same  things  uttered  in 
Hebrew,  and  translated  into  any  other  tongue, 
not  only  these  things,  but  the  Law  itself,  and  the 
Prophets,  and  the  rest  of  the  Books,  have  no 
small  difference,  when  they  are  spoken  in  their 
own  language."*  In  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
scriptures  there  are  many  words,  many  idioms, 
and  many  national  customs,  for  which  no  other 
language  affords  an  exact  equivalent.  "  It  is 
however  incumbent  on  every  translator  to  study 
the  manner  of  his  Author,  to  mark  the  peculiari- 
ties of  his  style,  to  imitate  his  features,  his  air, 
his  gesture,  and,  as  far  as  the  difference  of  lan- 
guage will  permit,  even  his  very  voice ;  in  a  word, 
to  give  the  just  and  expressive  resemblance  of 
the  original.  If  he  does  not  carefully  attend  to 
this,  he  will  sometimes  fail  of  entering  into  his 
meaning;  he  will  always  exhibit  him  unlike  him- 
self;  in  a  dress,  that  will  appear  strange  and  un- 
becoming, to  all  that  are  in  any  degree  acquainted 
with  him."f 

Every  authorized  translation  of  the  scriptures 
is  regarded  as  the  representative,  or  fac  simile, 
of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  originals ;  and  there- 
fore, the  more  closely  a  translation  resembles 
the  original,  so  much  the  more  faithful  it  is. 
In  like  manner  a  picture,  which  resembles  life, 
and  exhibits  every  peculiarity  of  feature,   air, 

*  Prologue  to  the  Book  of  Ecclesiasies. 

f  Bishop  Lowth's  Prelim.  Disc,  to  his  Version  of  Isaiah,  p.  32, 

s 


(     206     ) 

and  complexion  in  the  original,  is  much  more  es- 
teemed than  one  bearing  a  distant  resemblance, 
be  it  ever  so  fine,  or  ever  so  flattering.  The  one 
is  a  true  likeness,  and  therefore  is  a  faithful  re- 
presentative of  the  original ;  the  other  a  fictitious 
imitation,  and  consequently  an  untrue  represen- 
tative of  the  person  for  whom  it  was  drawn. 

If  it  be  said  that  metre  versions  of  the  psalms 
and  other  scriptures  are  expressed  in  words  syno- 
nimous  to  those  of  the  prose  translation;  let  it 
be  asked — Who  would  not  prefer  the  words  of 
the  authorized  translation,  the  acknowledged 
representative  of  the  originals,  to  synonyms  and 
circumlocutions,  of  whose  right  to  be  consi- 
dered the  legal  representatives  of  the  originals, 
there  may  exist  a  doubt  ?  Who  would  not  consi- 
der a  written  instrument,  having  the  proper  seals 
and  signatures  appended  to  it,  of  infinitely  higher 
authenticity,  than  a  duplicate  ever  so  well  imi- 
tated? Close  and  fair  translation  is  one  thing, 
and  loose  and  rhythmical  paraphrase  is  another. 
There  can  be  no  such  thing  as  a  true  metrical 
translation  of  one  language  into  another;  every 
pretence  of  the  kind  is  a  mere  deception.  Every 
prosaic  translation,  be  it  rendered  ever  so  faith- 
fully and  critically,  loses  some  portion  of  the 
spirit  of  the  original ;  but  every  rhythmical  ver- 
sion is  not  only  a  departure  from  the  original,  in 
point  of  diction,  and  the  verbal  order  of  thought; 
but  it  embraces  whatever  meaning  the  versifier 


(     207     ) 

thinks  proper  to  give  it.  So  frequently  have  the 
versifiers  of  David's  Psalms  departed  from  the 
original,  and  all  authorised  translations,  by  the 
use  of  synonyms  and  circumlocutions,  by  addi- 
tions, alterations,  and  suppressions,  that,  in 
numberless  instances,  scarcely  a  feature  of  simU 
larity  between  the  prose  and  the  verse  is  dis- 
cernible. 

What  Jerome  said  of  the  alterations  in  the  La- 
tin Vulgate,  "  cum  apud  Latinos  tot  sint  exem- 
plaria,  quot  codices,  ct  unusquisque,  pro  arbitrio 
suo,  vel  addiderit,  vel  subtraxerit  quod  visum 
est,"*  is  equally  applicable  to  the  metre  versions 
of  David's  Psalms,  which,  since  the  beginning 
of  the  15th  century,  have  inundated  a  great  part 
of  the  northern  hemisphere.  Were  David,  at  the 
present  time,  to  behold  all  these  versions  of  his 
divine  odes,  he  would  reject  every  one  of  them 
as  spurious  translations;  just  as  Livy  would 
have  disowned  a  version  of  his  works,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  9th  century  in  Iambics;  and  Virgil, 
a  version  of  his  Eneid,  which  appeared  in  the 
10th  century  in  monkish  rhyme. 

Every  person  acquainted  with  the  structure  of 
languages,  knows  that  there  are  not  two  words 
in  any  language  possessed  of  the  same  quantity, 
though  they  may  have  the  same  kind  of  mean- 
ings and  therefore,  with  all  the  aid  of  rules  and 

•  Dr.  Marsh's  Theol.  Lect  p.  72. 


(     298     ) 

rhyming  dictionaries,  the  difficulty  of  apportioli- 
ing  the  feet,  and  chiming  the  cadences,  has  not 
only  occasioned  many  erasures,  but  also  many 
departures  from  the  textual  subject.  For_  the 
sake  of  m  a  sweetly-sounding  line,"  and  a  pro- 
perly rhyming  cadence ;  to  prevent  lame  feet ;  to 
restrain  the  subject  within,  or  to  extend  it  so  as 
to  fill  up  the  number  of  feet  and  lines  in  the  pro- 
posed measure,  the  versifier  is  frequently  re- 
duced to  the  necessity  of  going  beyond,  of  falling 
short,  or  of  going  to  the  right  or  to  the  left  hand 
of  his  subject.  The  translator  into  prosaic  dic- 
tion has  it  always  in  his  power  to  make  choice  of 
the  vocables,  which  are  the  most  appropriate 
and  expressive  of  the  import  of  the  original,  and 
the  liberty  of  making  the  general  harmony  of  his 
periods  but  a  secondary  consideration ;  whereas 
the  versifier,  being  always  obliged  to  make  the 
measures  and  cadences  of  his  lines  a  matter  of 
primary  importance,  is  frequently  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  adopting  words  less  appropriate,  and 
less  expressive  of  the  original.  Consequently, 
every  attempt  to  versify  any  part  or  parts  of  the 
sacred  code,  and  at  the  same  time  to  retain 
their  spirit  and  intent,  is  futile,  and  attended  with 
absolute  impossibility. 

No  book  of  the  sacred  volume  hath  been  so 
often,  and  so  unmercifully  tortured  on  the  rack 
of  rhyme,  as  the  Book  of  Psalms. 

Madam  Dacier,  in  the  preface  to  her  transla- 


(     209     ) 

tion  of  Homer,  assures  us,  «  that  the  Books  of 
the  Prophets,  and  the  Psalms,  even  in  the  vul- 
gate,  are  all  full  of  such  passages,  as  the  great- 
est poet  in  the  world  could  not  put  into  verse, 
without  losing  much  of  their  majesty  and  pathos." 
,  Dr.  Beattie  says,  «  Tate  and  Brady  are  too 
quaint,  and  where  the  Psalm  rises  to  sublimity 
(which  is  very  often  the  case)  are  apt  to  sink  into 
bombast.  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  are  in  general 
bad.  Watts  is  too  paraphrastical.  King  James' 
version,  considering  the  age  and  the  author,  sur- 
prisingly good."* — «  The  modish  tricks  and  or- 
naments of  verse  appear  to  me  not  very  graceful 
in  serious  poetry  of  any  sort ;  but  in  sacred 
poetry  I  consider  them  as  worse  than  ungraceful, 
as  even  indecent."f — «  Does  not  the  spirit  of 
such  compositions  evaporate,  when  it  is  strained 
through  the  syllable-squeezing  alembic?  Did 
you  ever  see  a  version  of  the  Psalms  of  David  in 
metre,  of  Job,  or  the  Song  of  Solomon,  that 
possessed  all  the  pathos,  simplicity,  and  subli- 
mity of  the  prose  translation  V9\ 

Writing  on  the  sublimity  of  the  holy  scriptures, 
Mr.  Addison  says ;  "  The  human  mind  can  con- 
ceive nothing  more  elevated,  more  grand,  more 
glowing  and  beautiful,  and  more  elegant,  than 
what  we  meet  with  in  the  writings  of  the  Hebrew 
bards.      The  almost  ineffable  sublimity   of  the 

■  Sir  W.  Forbes'  Life  of  Dr.  Beattie.  Let.  115.  f  Let.  125. 

4  Let.  2. 

S   % 


(     210     ) 

subjects  they  treat  of  is  fully  equalled  by  the 
energy  of  the  language,  and  the  dignity  of  the 
style.  After  perusing  the  Book  of  Psalms,  let 
a  judge  of  the  beauties  of  poetry  read  a  literal 
translation  of  Horace  or  Pindar,  and  he  will  find 
in  these  such  an  absurdity  and  confusion  of  style, 
with  such  a  comparative  poverty  of  imagination, 
as  will  make  him  sensible  of  the  vast  superiority 
of  the  scripture  style.  And  therefore,  «  As 
psalms  may,  in  prose,  as  easily  as  in  verse,  be 
adapted  to  music,  why  should  we  seek  to  force 
those  divine  strains  into  the  measures  of  Roman 
or  modern  song?  He  who  translated  Livy  into 
Iambics,  and  Virgil  into  monkish  rhyme,  did 
not  act  more  absurdly.  In  fact,  sentiments  or 
devotion  arc  rather  depressed  than  elevated  by 
the  arts  of  the  European  versifier."* 

And  Dr.  Johnson  says ;  "  It  has  been  the  fre- 
quent lamentation  of  good  men,  that  verse  has 
been  too  little  applied  to  the  purposes  of  worships 
and  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  animate 
devotion  by  pious  poetry.  That  they  have  very 
seldom  attained  their  end  is  sufficiently  known, 
and  it  may  not  be  improper  to  inquire  why  they 
have  miscarried. 

Let  no  pious  ear  be  offended,  if  I  advanee,  io 
opposition  to  many  authorities,  that  poetical  de- 
votion cannot  often  please. 

*  Dr,  CeaH^'s  Mora*  and  Critical  Discourses,  vol.  ii.  p.  41£ 


(  m  ) 

The  doctrines  of  religion  may  indeed  be  de- 
fended in  a  didactic  poem;  and  he  who  has  the 
happy  power  of  arranging  his  verse,  will  not 
lose  it,  because  bis  subject  is  sacred.  A  poet 
may  describe  the  beauties,  and  the  grandeur  of 
nature,  the  flowers  of  the  spring,  and  the  har- 
vests of  autumn ;  the  vicissitudes  of  the  tides, 
and  the  revolutions  of  the  sky ;  and  praise  the 
Maker  for  his  works,  in  lines  which  no  reader 
shall  lay  aside.  The  subject  of  the  disputation 
is  not  piety,  but  the  motives  to  piety ;  that  of 
the  description  is  not  God,  but  the  works  of  God. 

Contemplative  poetry,  or  the  intercourse  be- 
tween God  and  the  human  soul,  cannot  be  poe- 
tical. Man  admitted  to  implore  the  mercy  of  his 
Creator,  and  plead  the  merits  of  his  Redeemer,  is 
already  in  a  higher  state  than  poetry  can  confer. 
The  essence  of  poetry  is  invention ;  such  inven- 
tion as,  by  producing  something  unexpected,  sur- 
prises and  delights.  The  topics  of  devotion  are 
few,  and  being  few,  are  universally  known  ;  but 
few  as  they  are,  they  can  be  made  no  more ;— * 
they  can  receive  no  grace  from  novelty  of  senti- 
ment, and  very  little  from  novelty  of  expression. 
Poetry  pleases  by  exhibiting  an  idea  more  grateful 
to  the  mind  than  things  themselves  afford.  This 
effect  proceeds  from  the  display  of  those  parts 
of  nature  which  attract,  and  the  concealment  of 
those,  which  repel  the  imagination.  But  reli- 
gion must  be  shown  as  it  is  5  suppression  and  ad 


(     212     ) 

ditiort  equally  corrupt  it ;  and  such  as  it  is,  it  i« 
known  already.  From  poetry,  the  reader  justly 
expects,  and  from  good  poetry  always  obtains 
the  enlargement  of  his  comprehension,  and  ele- 
vation of  his  fancy ;  but  this  is  rarely  to  be  hoped 
by  Christians  from  metrical  devotion.  What- 
ever is  great,  desirable,  or  tremendous,  is  com- 
prised in  the  name  of  the  Supreme  Being.  Om- 
nipotence cannot  be  exalted ;  Infinity  cannot  be 
amplified;  Perfection  cannot  be  improved. 

The  employments  of  pious  meditation  are  Faith, 
Thanksgiving,  Repentance,  and  Supplication. 
Faith,  invariably  uniform,  cannot  be  invested  by 
fancy  with  decorations.  Thanksgiving,  the  most 
joyful  of  all  holy  effusions,  yet  addressed  to  a 
Being  without  passions,  is  confined  to  a  few 
modes,  and  is  to  be  felt,  rather  than  expressed. 
Repentance,  trembling  in  the  presence  of  the 
Judge,  is  not  at  leisure  for  cadences  and  epithets. 
Supplication  of  man  to  man  may  diffuse  itself 
through  many  topics  of  persuasion ;  but  suppli- 
cation to  God  can  only  cry  for  mercy. 

Of  sentiments  purely  religious,  it  will  be  found, 
that  the  most  simple  expression  is  the  most  sub- 
lime. Poetry  loses  its  lustre  and  its  power,  be- 
cause it  is  applied  to  something  more  excellent 
than  itself.  All  that  verse  can  do,  is  to  help  the 
memory,  and  delight  the  ear;  and  for  these  pur- 
poses it  may  be  very  useful ;  but  it  supplies  no- 
thing to  the  mind.    The  ideas  of  Christian  The- 


(     213     ) 

ology  are  all  too  simple  for  eloquence,  too  sacred 
for  fiction,  and  too  majestic  for  ornament.  To 
recommend  them  by  tropes  and  figures,  is  to 
magnify,  by  a  concave  mirror,  the  sideral  he- 
misphere."* 

By  every  unprejudiced  reader,  these  illustra- 
tions and  reasonings  will  be  admitted  as  an  am- 
ple demonstration,  that  the  spirit  of  devotion  is 
not  to  be  found  in  metrical  psalms  and  hymns, 
but  in  scripture  forms  and  the  prosaic  hymns  of 
the  Church  only.  If  God,  in  his  revealed  word, 
hath  not  sufficiently  opened  every  well  of  salva- 
tion, and  every  store-house  of  spiritual  suste- 
nance ;  in  vain  shall  we  apply  to  the  wells  of  our 
own  digging,  and  the  store-houses  of  our  own 
contriving.  If  the  Prophets  and  the  Apostles 
Lave  not,  in  their  writings,  sufficiently  shown  un- 
to us  the  way  of  salvation,  do  we  expect  sup- 
plementary directions  from  the  uninspired  versi- 
fiers? Is  it  likely  that  holy  scripture,  is»  the  sim- 
ple, but  majestic  dress  of  prosaic  diction,  is  un- 
able to  "  make  us  wise  unto  salvation,"  until  it 
has  been  compelled  to  appear  in  the  meretricious 
plaits,  flounces  and  furbelows  of  verse  ?  If  "  the 
Law  of  the  spirit  of  life"  is  deemed  sufficient  to 
*«  guide  our  feet  into  the  way  of  truth  and  peace," 
to  what  purpose  do  we  borrow  the  puerile  aids 
which  poetry  offers  ?  It  is  by  the  writings  of  the 

*  J)r.  Johnson's  Lives  of  the  Potts.    Art.  W^te 


(     214     ) 

Prophets  and  Apostles  that  we  are  now  to  regu- 
late our  lives,  and  hereafter  to  be  judged;  and 
if  we  are  not  drawn  to  God  by  the  instrumenta- 
lity of  his  prosaic  scriptures,  it  were  presumption 
to  expect  to  be  drawn  to  him  by  humanly  para- 
phrased or  metrified  ones. 

Scriptures  adulterated  with  mixtures  of  hu- 
man imagination  may  tickle  and  amuse  the  sen- 
sual ear,  but  will  never  "  prick  any  man  to  the 
heart,"  and  cause  him  to  exclaim,  "  What  shall 
I  do  to^be  saved?"  Nor,  indeed,  is  there  any 
promise,  nor  any  reason  for  believing,  that  they 
will  ever  prove  to  any  one  «  the  power  of  God, 
and  the  wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation."  But, 
if  the  scriptures,  unadulterated  with  the  con- 
ceits of  human  fancy,  "  are  able  to  make  men 
wise  unto  salvation,"  and  the  Apostles'  declara- 
tion that  they  are,  is  decisive,  why  then  should 
they  be  changed  from  their  vernacular  state,  into 
a  humanly  devised  condition,  in  order  to  accom- 
plish a  purpose,  to  which  they  are  commensurate 
in  their  prosaic  state  only? 

This  doctrine  is  affirmed  in  the  6th  Article, 
thus; — "  Holy  scripture  eontaineth  all  things 
necessary  to  salvation:  so  that,  whatsoever  is 
not  read  therein,  nor  may  be  proved  thereby,  is 
not  to  be  required  of  any  man,  that  it  should  be 
believed  as  an  article  of  faith,  or  be  thought  re- 
quisite or  necessary  to  salvation." 

£ut  metrified  scriptures  are  no  where  to  he 


(    2*5     ) 

found  in  our  Bibles,  nor  can  they  be  proved  by 
either  scripture  texts,  or  by  fair  deductions  from 
the  general  import  of  the  canon  of  scripture,  to 
be  agreeable  to  the  mind  of  God ;  it  follows  that 
they  are  neither  rules  of  faith,  nor  requisite, 
nor  necessary  to  salvation. 

In  the  latter  clause  of  the  17th  Article  we 
read ;  "  that  will  of  God  is  to  be  followed,  which 
we  have  expressly  declared  unto  us,  in  the  Word 
of  God." 

And  the  20th  Article  affirms  that—"  The 
Church  hath  power  to  decree  Rites  and  Ceremo- 
nies, and  Authority  in  controversies  of  Faith: 
And  yet  it  is  not  lawful  for  the  Church  to  ordain 
any  thing  that  is  contrary  to  God's  word  written; 
neither  may  it  so  expound  one  place  of  scripture, 
that  it  be  repugnant  to  another.  Wherefore,  al- 
though the  Church  be  a  Witness  and  a  Keeper* 
of  Holy  Writ,  yet  as  it  ought  not  to  decree  any 
thing  against  the  same,  so  besides  the  same  ought 
it  not  to  enforce  any  thing  to  be  believed  for  ne- 
cessity of  salvation." 

Every  expression  in  this  article  is  as  propitious 
to  the  point  in  view,  as  the  most  zealous  advocate 
for  the  intactableness  of  Holy  Scripture  can  de- 


*  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture. St  Mark  xvi.  15. 

Ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  Judea, 
and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth.     Acts  i.  8. 

We  are  witnesses  of  all  things  which  he  did.     Acts  x.  39. 

It  is  required  in  stewards,  that  a  man  be  found  faithful.  1  Cor.  iv.  2. 

Keep  the  sayings  of  the  Prophecy  of  this  Book.    Rev.  xxii.  t>. 


(     216     ) 

sire.  One  of  the  most  cogent  arguments  that 
can  be  adduced,  to  prove  that  Holy  Writ  is  not 
to  be  interpolated  with  expressions  of  human  dic- 
tion, is  contained  in  the  affirmation,  "  The 
Church  is  the  witness  and  keeper  of  Holy  Writ.,, 

As  a  witness,  the  Church  bears  its  testimony 
to  the  truth  of  Holy  Writ ;  and  as  a  keeper,  it 
acts  as  an  appointed  conservator  of  the  integrity 
of  the  same.  As  a  witness,  and  keeper  of  the 
two  Testaments,  the  Church  not  only  bears  its 
testimony  to  their  canonicalness  and  sufficiency 
for  every  thing  belonging  to  life  and  godliness ; 
but  also  it  keeps  watch  over  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
that  neither  the  original  text  be  adulterated,  nor 
the  approved  translation  be  perverted— that  no- 
thing be  altered,  nothing  be  added,  nothing  be 
suppressed — that  in  making  translations  of  the 
original  scriptures  into  other  languages,  **  the 
will  of  God  be  followed,"  and  not  «  the  devices 
and  desires  of  our  own  hearts.*' 

The  whole  of  ecclesiastical  authority,  as  it  re- 
spects the  scriptures,  is  purely  confidential. 
*  The  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God  was 
committed  to  my  trust.'**—* "  This  charge  I  com- 
mit to  thee."| — *  Keep  that  which  is  committed 
to  thy  trust.":): — "  Hold  fast  the  form  of  sound 
words."§ — "  The  things  which  thou  hast  heard 
of  me  among  many  witnesses,  the  same  commit 

*  1  Tim.  I  11.  f  18.  *  vi.  20.  §  2  Tim.  i.  13. 


(   aw    ) 

thou  to  faithful  men,  who  shall  he  able  to  teach 
others  also."* — "  A  Bishop  must  be  blameless, 
holding  fast  the  faithful  word."\ 

Now  this  faithful  word  is  the  written  (JiaS-wz) 
covenant  or  dispensation  of  mercy,  for  accom- 
plishing the  redemption  and  salvation  of  mankind 
by  Jesus  Christ.  Illustrative  of  the  immutable 
nature  of  this  covenant,  dispensation,  or  testa- 
ment, St  Paul  adduces  the  parallel  of  a  human 
testament.  *'  Though  it  be  but  a  man's  (JW^kj*) 
covenant  (testament,)  yet  if  it  be  (xeKvpa/Mvvv  Jw^jj- 
xjjv,  authenlicatnm  testamentumj  confirmed,  (au- 
thenticated by  seals  and  signatures,  and  the  death 
of  the  testator)  no  man  disannulled),  or  addeth 
thereto.":): 

Actuated  by  this  view  of  the  subject,  the 
Church  of  England  hath  always  withheld  its  ap- 
probation from  metrified  scriptures  ;§  and  our 
own  Church  has  verily  done  the  same,  in  its  giv- 
ing only  a  bare  allowance  for  the  use  of  them. 
But  it  is  questionable,  whether  the  Church,  in 
giving  an  allowance  to  use  metrified  scriptures  in 
its  assemblies,  has  not  gone  beyond  its  confiden- 
tial powers ;  as  the  right  to  give  such  an  allow- 
ance cannot  be  said  to  come  within  the  sense  of 


*  2  Tim.  ii.  2.  f  Titus  v.  7.  *  Gal.  iii.  15. 

§  The  allowance  for  the  use  of  Tate  and  Brady's  I'salms  was  no 
act  of  con  vocational  authority;  but  a  mere  placebo  to  the  petition 
of  two  individuals,  domesticks  of  the  King's  household.  See  the 
Allowance  in  the  Appendix,  Sect.  III. 

T 


(     218     ) 

the  official  words,  «  Witness    and  Keeper  of 
Holy  Writ," 

Before  a  civil  tribunal,  a  witness  is  bound  to 
f  declare  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing 
but  the  truth ;"  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  use  men- 
tal reservations,  or  to  perplex  his  evidence  with 
mixtures  of  adventitious  testimony  irrelevant  to 
the  case  in  hand.  In  like  manner,  a  Witness, 
as  being  always  in  the  presence  of  God,  giving 
his  testimony  concerning  Holy  Writ,  is  to  «  de- 
clare the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing 
but  the  truth."  He  is  neither  to  wrest*  the 
scriptures,  nor  to  adulteratef  them  with  any  of 


■  2  Pet.  iii.  16.  Here  the  original  word  a^tt^/xto*  signifies, 
unsettled,  unstable,  unsteady,  given  to  change.  Irptfixou, 
torqueo,  tormentis  distraho,  distorqueo,  perverto,  depravo. 
Hed.  Lex.  To  distort,  crook,  to  distort  the  limbs  on  a  rack, 
to  put  to  the  rack,  to  wrest,  or  torture  the  scriptures  to  make 
them  speak  an  unnatural  sense,  which  was  never  intended. 
Parkhurst's  Gr.  Lex.  Therefore  the  words  att^ktoi  ff-rpt* 
fi\ov<7t  may  be  rendered,  innovators,  or  persons  given  to  change^ 
distort  the  scriptures  into  an  unnatural  form  and  signification. 
And  this  is  precisely  the  case  with  all  poetical  versions  of 
those  divine  books. 

f  2  Cor.  ii.  17.  We  are  not  as  many  who  (aatTaxeyovre?,  cau- 
ponantes,  adulterantes)  corrupt  the  "Word  of  God.  The  word 
jcA7r>i\ivoe,  from  KX7r»\Gsy  a  vintner,  signifies  to  make  a  gain 
of  any  thing,  especially  by  adulterating  it  with  heterogeneous 
mixtures. 

Isaiah  i.  22.  Ot  x.&7M\ct  trcv  fjurycvri  voi  c/vov  y/stT/,  thy 
vintners  mix  the  wine  with  water.  St.  Paul  uses  this  word 
to  denote  the  adulterating  or  mixing  the  word  of  God  with 
human  imaginations.  2  Cor.  iv.  2.  "  Not  handling  the  Word 
of  God  deceitfully ;"  here  the  original  word,  foxoujTtS)  adul- 
terantes, adulterating,  mixing  the  Word  of  God,  has  a  simi- 
lar  import. 


(     2*9     ) 

those  mixtures  and  adventitious  accompaniments 
which  are  the  natural  fruits  of  a  luxuriant  imagi- 
nation. Such  testimony  has  a  direct  tendency 
to  "  make  the  Word  of  God  of  none  effect." 
This  done  in  the  prosaic  form  sets  scripture  at 
variance  with  itself;  and  in  the  metrical  form 
establishes  a  rivalship  between  scripture  in  the 
garb  of  poetry,  and  scripture  in  the  garment  of 
prose. 

As  the  guardianship  of  the  Jewish  scriptures 
was  annexed  to  the  Levitical  priesthood ;  so  the 
charge  of  both  Testaments  hath  been  committed 
to  the  ministers  of  the  evangelical  dispensation. 
This  is  significantly  denoted  in  the  ceremony  of 
the  Ordinary's  presenting  the  newly-ordained  mi- 
nister with  a  Bible,  whilst  he  pronounces  the 
words,  «  Take  thou  authority  to  preach  the 
Word  of  God,  &c." 

Thus,  in  our  Church,  every  Clergyman  be- 
comes a  Keeper  of  Holy  Writ,  and  has  the  breast- 
plate of  Faith  committed  to  his  trust.  This 
breast-plate  is  infinitely  more  valuable  than  that 
of  Aaron,  and  may  not  improperly  be  termed  the 
Christian  pectoral.  And,  as  the  precious  gems 
in  the  Aaronitic  pectoral  were  set  according  to  the 
pattern  exhibited  to  Moses,  and  their  disposition 
was  never  to  be  altered;  so  the  gems  in  the 
Christian  breast-plate,  the  pectoral  of  faith,  set 
by  the  Son  of  God,  admit  not  of  alteration,  ad- 
dition, or  suppression,  from  the  hand  of  man. 


(     220     ) 

The  ministerial  commission,  "  Go  ye  into  alt 
the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture," verily  implies,  that  correct  translations  of 
Holy  Writ  be  presented  to  each  people,  "  in  the 
language  wherein  they  were  born,"  and  that  the 
missionary  be  able  to  speak  ««  the  wonderful 
works  of  God"  in  the  language  of  the  people  to 
whom  he  is  appointed  to  "  show  the  way  of  sal- 
vation." But  whether  a  minister  preaches  to  a 
society  of  converts  in  a  strange  land,  or  to  an 
established  congregation  in  the  land  of  his  na- 
tivity, it  is  equally  incumbent  upon  him  to  "  di- 
vide the  tvord  aright,"  to  quote  the  scripture 
testimony  for  the  doctrine  he  advances,  word  for 
word  as  it  stands  in  his  Bible.  If  he  is  mighty 
in  (he  scriptures,  and  his  texts  well  chosen,  and 
properly  applied,  the  scriptures,  which  he  intro- 
duces into  his  own  compositions,  will  appear  as 
"  apples  of  gold  set  in  pictures  of  silver,"  giving 
a  life,  a  brilliancy,  an  evangelicalness  to  his  ser- 
mon, which,  though  a  mere  human  composition, 
is  thereby  rendered  consentaneous  to  the  divine 
will.  But,  if  scripture  texts  are  not  quoted 
verbatim,  they  are  not  true  scripture,  they  are 
not  "  apples  of  gold,"  they  are  counterfeits,  no 
where  to  be  found  on  the  pages  of  the  Law,  the 
Prophets,  or  Apostles.  Now,  if  it  be  acknow- 
ledged to  be  the  indispensible  duty  of  a  steward 
of  Jesus  Christ,  that,  without  addition,  alteration, 
or  suppression,  he  express  the  scriptures  whieU 


(     221     ) 

he  quotes  in  his  addresses  to  his  fellow-mortals ; 
the  duty  of  being  equally  precise  is  not  diminished 
whenever,  professedly  in  the  words  of  scripture, 
he  addresses  the  God  of  the  scriptures. 

True  it  is,  we  never  behold  the  evangelical 
pleaders  from  their  pulpits  quoting  the  divine 
law  in  metre,  in  their  addresses  at  the  bar  of 
their  clients'  consciences  ;  but  we  frequently  be- 
hold this  law*  disguised  in  verse,  used  as  popu- 
lar appeals  to  the  Div  ine  Majesty !  The  clergy 
address  the  people  in  prosaic  scriptures;  and  the 
people  address  God  in  metrified  ones ! 

We  can  hardly  imagine  any  thing  more  out  of 
order,  than  to  address  the  people  in  sermons, 
lectures,f  &c.  in  the  scripture  forms  of  the 
prose  translation; — and  to  address  the  God  of 
the  scriptures  in  scripture  texts  metamorphosed 
into  the  form  of  common  ballads.  Surely  a 
practice,  that  is  so  repugnant  to  common  sense, 
can  never  be  supposed  to  accord  with  infinite 
wisdom  ;  and  yet  it  obtains  in  all  our  churches ; 
— none  of  our  people  putting  the  question  to  him- 
self—** Is  there  not  a  lie  in  ray  right  hand  ?" 

In  another  point  of  view,  the  use  of  metrified 
scriptures  appears  to  be  an  extravagant  and  un- 


*  That  the  Book  of  Psalms  is  a  constituent  part  of  the  divine  law, 
is  testified  by  the  Legislator  himself,  in  St.  John's  Gospel,  chap.  xv. 
verse  l25,  compared  with  Psalm  xxxv   19. 

f  The  Allowance  lo  use  Tate  and  Brady's  Psalms  in  worshipping 
assemblies  is  a  higher  compliment,  than  hath  ever  been  conferred 
upon  any  of  the  best  sermons,  &c.  extant. 

t  3 


(     222     ) 

justifiable  thing,  as  it  implies  that  the  Church 
authorizes  poetical  paraphrases,  whilst  it  gives 
no  warrant  for  the  public  use  of  prosaic  ones. 
And  is  not  this  a  ranking  the  poet  above  the  Pro- 
phets and  the  Apostles — human  imagination  above 
dhine  revelation — the  metrified  scriptures  of 
man's  devising  above  the  prosaic  ones  of  God's 
appointment  ?  Can  this  be  called  observing  the 
ratio  of  excellence  in  the  persons  to  whom  these 
dissimilar  scriptures  are  addressed — artificial 
scinptures  to  the  persons  in  Deity,  and  jfac-smn- 
lies  of  the  original  ones  to  the  individuals  of  a 
congregation  ?  In  the  public  reading  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  the  minister,  with  truth  can  say  to 
his  congregation,  Of  God's  own  do  we  give  unto 
you ;  but  in  the  use  of  metrical  scriptures,  can 
he,  with  any  shadow  of  truth,  say  unto  God, — 
w  Of  thine  own  have  we  given  unto  thee  ?"*  De 
we  think  that,  because  our  sensual  ears  are 
pleased  with  the  jingle  of  rhyme,  God  also  must 
needs  be  pleased  with  it?  Is  the  taste  of  our 
sensual  ears  to  be  the  measure  of  taste  to  him 
who  planted  the  ear  ?  Perish  the  thought,  that 
sinful  man  should  dare  to  give  rules  to  the  Most 
High; — rather  ought  we  humbly  to  follow  his 
steps,  than  proudly  decline  into  devious  paths, 
with  the  presumptive  hope  that  he  will  follow  us. 
Certainly  we  shall  stumble  in  our  ways,  when 

•  1  (Jhron  xxix.  14. 


(     223     ) 

we  depart  from  the  ancient  paths,  to  walk  in 
paths  of  our  own  devising — ■"  a  wav"  which  the 
supreme  wisdom  "  hath  not  east  up."f  Feeble 
in  the  extreme  must  he  the  vision  of  our  '*  inner 
man,"  if  we  prefer  the  penumbral  shades  of  hu- 
man fancy  to  the  meridional  splendour  of  the 
Word  of  God !  If  the  Apostles  and  succeeding 
Christians  walked  with  God  in  the  illumination  of 
prosaic  acts  of  praise  for  fourteen  centuries,  why 
should  modern  Christians  reject  such  lights,  and 
give  a  preference  to  the  ignis  fatuus  of  scripture 
\ersification  ?  Or,  does  any  Christian  imagine 
that  the  psalmodic  parts  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  are  so  much  in  the  condition  of  raw 
materials,  that  they  are  unfit  to  he  used  as  Hal- 
lelujahs of  the  sanctuary,  until  they  have  been 
made  to  pass  through  the  manufactories  of  the 
poets?  And  have  they  improved  them?  Are  those 
sacred  hymns  the  more  valuable  for  their  being 
diluted  with  human  mixtures  ?  And  does  it  ap- 
pear that  a  larger  portion  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
hath  been  poured  out  upon  the  scripture  versifi- 
ers of  these  last  centuries,  than  was  conferred 
upon  the  Prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the 
Apostles  of  the  New ;  or  indeed  upon  the  whole 
aggregate  of  the  Church,  during  a  space  of  four- 
teen hundred  years  ? 
Now,  seeing  these  interrogatories  admit  not  of 

*  Jer.xviii.  15, 


(     82*     ) 

solutions  propitious  to  the  objector's  hypothesis, 
the  general  conclusion  is,  that,  however  humour, 
vanity,  and  self-conceit  may  be  tenacious  of  the 
novelty,  yet  reason  and  revelation  are  opposed  to 
it.  And  however  an  affectation  of  seeming  wi- 
ser than  the  written  word  may  blind  the  eyes  of 
our  understanding ;  and  a  show  of  superior  illu- 
mination in  will-worship  may  gratify  our  carnal 
feelings ;  the  declaration  of  the  Author  of  sacred 
scripture, "  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  not  pass  from 
the  Law?,"*  ought  to  make  us  think  seriously, 
whether  many  jots,  and  many  tittles,  have  not 
been  made  to  pass  from  the  Law,  since  the  Eu- 
ropean versifiers  first  began  to  secularize  the 
Psalms  into  the  shape  of  common  ballads. 

Commenting  upon  this  text,.  St.  Basil  says, 
M  If  then,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  not  pass  from 
the  Law,  how  can  it  be  safe  for  us  to  neglect  even 
the  smallest  thing ?"f  Or  (it  may  be  added)  to 
admit  of  those  mixtures  and  departures  from  au- 
thorized translation,  which  are  the  unavoidable 
concomitants  of  all  poetical  versions  of  the  di- 
vine oracles  ? 

Because  the  oracles  of  paganism  were  given 
in  hexameters,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  com- 
pose all  the  hymns  of  polytheistic  worship  in 
verse  also;  and  indeed,  until  the  times  of  Hero- 
dotus,:): all  history,  and  every  part  of   heathen 

*  St.  Matt.  v.  18.  f  Basil.  Proem,  de  Sp.  Sancto. 

J  He  recited  his  history  at  the  Olympic  games,  in  445  A.  C. 


(     225     ) 

education,  was  written  in  verse  of  some  sort  or 
another.  But  surely,  Christians,  with  the  Bible 
in  their  hands,  have  fairer  copies  to  imitate, 
than  those  that  were  written  during  the  night  of 
heathenish  ignorance  and  superstition.  We,  on 
whom  the  glorious  Gospel  of  God  the  Saviour 
hath  shined  in  all  the  splendors  of  ««  grace  and 
truth,"  have  no  need  of  copying  the  steps  of  our 
idolatrous  ancestors;  or  of  saying  to  ourselves, 
if  as  they  served  their  Gods"  with  hymns  of  Del- 
phic verse,  "  so  will  we  serve  the  Lord  our  God." 

In  one  instance,  it  had  been  well,  if  our  an- 
cestors of  the  15th  and  16th  centuries  had  taken 
a  lesson  from  then*  idolatrous  forefathers^  in  im- 
itating the  precision  with  which  they  guarded 
their  laws  as  well  as  their  images  against  every 
possibility  of  change.  They  made  it  capitally 
penal  to  alter  one  single  word  of  their  hexauie- 
trical  laws,  or  one  single  feature  of  their  idol- 
gods.  Nay,  banishment  was  inflicted  upon  Ter- 
pander,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  poet-musi- 
cians of  ancient  Greece,  for  adding  one  string 
to  his  Lyre. 

If  Christian  nations  as  highly  appreciated  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  as  idolatrous  nations  valued 
their  laws,  and  their  idols,  and  their  instruments 
of  music,  they  would  certainly  consider  them 
equally  saered  and  intactable.     But  this  has  not 

*  u  Fas  est  erum  ab  boste  doceri."   Adage 


(     226     ) 

been  the  ease ;  for  we  have  seen  the  Word  of  life 
sported  into  the  measures  of  heathen  song ; — the 
songs  of  Zion  assimilated  to  those  of  the  sensual 
muse ; — and  the  sacred  Charter  of  the  Priesthood 
prostrated  into  rhyme,  and  put  into  the  mouth 
of  every  singer  of  a  congregation,  who  thought- 
lessly uses  it  as  his  own  act  and  deed !  What  can 
be  more  ungrateful  to  the  feelings  of  every  one 
who  duly  appreciates  the  sanctity  of  the  scriptures 
and  the  episcopal  office,  than  to  behold  all  «  the 
singing  men  and  singing  women"  of  a  Christian 
assembly  personifying  the  Bishop  of  their  souls, 
and  commissioning  one  another,  and  all  the  clergy 
present,  a  second  time  to  preach  the  Gospel  ?  And 
who  could  suppose  that  ever  the  Witnesses  and 
Keepers  of  Holy  Writ  would  have  given  an  allow- 
ance to  use  the  Charter  of  the  Priesthood  in  a 
way  that  Jesus  never  intended  ?  But  what  lengths 
will  not  a  spirit  of  innovation  go,  when  once  it 
hath  taken  possession  cf  the  mind  of  man? 

Suppose  the  laws  of  any  country  were  turned 
into  verse,  without  a  special  act  of  the  supreme 
authority;  no  person  would  consider  himself 
amenable  to  such  un  unconstitutional  code.  Were 
the  Laws  of  the  United  States  published  in  rhyme, 
(with  a  view  of  rivalling  the  prosaic  forms)  by 
any  authority  inferior  to  that  which  enacted  them; 
what  lawyer  would  quote  such  rhymes  at  the  bar 
—.bin  for  the  sake  of  frolick  and  burlesque  ? 
And  were  one  of  the  faculty  to  defend  his  cause 


(     227     ) 

in  earnest,  by  such  unconstitutional  laws,  would 
not  the  Judges  avert  their  angry  brows,  and 
command  the  pleader  to  observe  order  ?  Would 
such  a  ballad-code  be  even  so  winked  at,  as  to 
escape  legislative  cognizance  ?  And  would  not 
every  good  citizen,  zealous  for  his  country's  ho- 
nour, be  fired  with  indignation  against  the  author 
of  a  burlesque  upon  the  fundamentals  of  social 
peace  and  order  ? 

Now,  if  human  laws  cannot  be  constitutionally 
turned  into  rhyme,  or  verse  of  any  sort,  unless 
by  an  act  of  authority  paramount  to  that  which 
had  enacted  them ;  what  estimate  can  be  made 
of  the  lawfulness  of  versifying  any  part  or  parts 
of  the  divine  Law,  without  the  express  command 
of  the  Legislator  himself?  And  where  is  this 
commission  to  be  found? 

What  would  ye  think,  brethren,  of  any  cler- 
gyman or  laic  who  should  undertake  to  publish 
the  Prayer  Book  in  rhyme  ?  In  what  words  could 
ye  sufficiently  express  your  abhorrence  of  such 
a  publication,  and  your  indignation  against  its 
author  ?  Would  ye  not  call  the  work,  a  work  of 
impiety,  bordering  upon  sacrilege ;  and  its  author, 
if  not  an  infidel,  yet  a  contemner  of  the  venera- 
ble and  sacred  forms  of  the  Church?  And  would 
not  the  ecclesiastical  arm  be  stretched  out  to  in- 
flict condign  punishment  on  the  offender? 

Now,  if  we  are  faithful  guardians  of  the 
lesser  things,  how  much  more  assiduous  ought 


(     228     ) 

we  to  be  in  keeping  watch  over  the  greater  ?  If 
we  are  zealous  conservators  of  human  ordinan- 
ces, lest  they  be  invaded  by  the  rapacious  hand 
of  innovation,  how  much  more  ought  our  zeal 
to  be  upon  the  alert,  to  discountenance  every  in- 
novation that  assaults  the  Book  of  the  Oracles 
of  Almighty  God—the  very  Book,  on  which  all 
Christian  offices  are  predicated  ? 

Not  only  do  unprejudiced  reason,  the  analogy 
of  things  human  and  divine,  and  the  illustrations 
and  deductions  of  argument,  point  out  the  im- 
propriety, the  unlawfulness,  and  the  danger  of 
using  unwarranted  liberties  with  the  Holy  Scip- 
tures  ;  but  they  themselves,  in  several  places  by 
implication,  and  in  others  in  express  language, 
declare  their  nature  and  essence  to  be  intactible, 
and  that  they  admit  neither  of  addition,  altera- 
tion, nor  suppression. 

One  of  the  injunctions  of  the  Levitical  ceco- 
nomy  is  not  to  be  evaded  by  the  most  zealous  ad- 
yocate  for  metrified  scriptures.  "  Ye  shall  not 
add  unto  the  word  which  I  command  you; — nei- 
ther shalj  ye  diminish  ought  from  it."*1 

"Were  it  possible  to  metrify  any  part  or  parts 
of  the  word  of  God,  without  addition,  ulteration, 
or  suppression,  it  might  be  alleged  that  this 
prohibitory  injunction  does  not  affect  the  point  in 
controversy ;  but  as  it  hath  been  demonstrated  in 

*  Deuteronomy  iv.  2. 


(     «*»     ) 

the  former  part  of  this  section,  that  every  attempt 
to  versify  scripture  hath  failed,  and  that  the  fai- 
lure was  principally  occasioned  by  the  necessity 
the  versifier  was  under  to  add  to,  diminish,  or  ea> 
pand  the  subject,  for  the  sake  of  measures  and 
cadences ;  it  is  therefore  as  clear  as  any  problem 
in  Euclid,  that  the  inhibition,  "  Ye  shall  not  add 
unto  the  word  which  I  command  you ;  neither 
shall  ye  diminish  ought  from  it,"  expressly  pro- 
hibits every  attempt  to  versify  any  part  or  parts 
of  the  ivord  of  God. 

With  prefatory  rules  of  conduct  the  same  pro- 
hibitory injunction  is  repeated;  «  Take  heed  to 
thyself  that  thou  be  not  snared  by  following  them, 
after  that  they  be  destroyed  before  thee ;  and  that 
thou  inquire  not  after  their  gods,  saying.  How 
did  these  nations  serve  their  gods  ?  Even  so  will 
I  do  likewise.  Thou  shalt  not  do  so  unto  the 
Lord  thy  God.  What  thing  soever  I  command 
you,  observe  to  do  it;  thou  shalt  not  add  thereto, 
nor  diminish  from  it."* 

This  injunction  given  to  the  Jewish  Church 
refers  to  every  part  of  the  private  and  public 
worship  of  Jehovah : — and  as  psalmody  was  a 
principal  part  of  that  worship,  and  the  insepara- 
ble concomitant  of  sacrifice,  we  must  consider 
it  as  one  of  those  ordinances  which  the  worship- 
pers were  inhibited  from  «  adding  thereto  or  di- 
minishing from  it." 

*  DeUt  xii.  30,  31,  32, 

u 


(     230     ) 

Exodus  xx.  22,  and  25.  "  The  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,— If  thou  wilt  make  me  an  altar  of  stone, 
thou  shalt  not  build  it  of  hewn  stone :— .for  if  thou 
lift  up  thy  tool  upon  it,  thou  hast  polluted  it." 

By  this  communication,  Jehovah  allowed  Mo- 
ses to  build  him  an  altar  of  stones  in  their  natu- 
ral shape,  but  forbade  him  to  use  hewn  stones. 
And  the  reason  for  inhibiting  the  use  of  hewn 
stones— stones  altered  from  their  natural  shape 
into  an  artificial  one— is  assigned,  "  If  thou  lift 
up  thy  tool  upon  it,  thou  hast  polluted  it." 

Now,  unless  we  can  suppose  that  God's  holy 
word  is  less  worthy  of  his  conservative  regard, 
than  a  Jewish  altar  was ;  we  must  admit  that  his 
holy  scriptures  are,  by  the  exercise  of  the  versi- 
fier's art  upon  them,  as  much  desecrated  and  ren- 
dered improper  for  the  service  of  the  Christian 
sanctuary,  as  natural  stones  hewn  by  the  stone-cut- 
ter's tools  became  thereby  polluted  or  unhallowed 
*— and  unfit  materials  for  an  altar  of  sacrifice, 
under  the  Mosaic  dispensation. 

The  Jewish  psalmody  was  fixed.  The  music 
must  also  have  been  fixed,  or  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  about  five  thousand  performers  to 
have  kept  together  in  time  and  tune,  as  they  had 
no  characters  for  music*.    And  there  is  no  dif- 


*  Dr.  Burney  says,  **  Xeither  the  ancient  Jews,  nor  the  modern, 
have  ever  had  any  characters  peculiar  to  music;  so  that  the  melodies 
used  in  their  religious  ceremonies  have,  at  all  times,  been  tradition- 
ary, and  at  the  mercy  of  the  singers.  The  conjecture  that  the  He- 
brew points  were  at  first  musical  characters  is  confirmed  by  a  learned 


(     231     ) 

Acuity  in  supposing  that  the  musical  airs  of  the 
temple-service  were  just  as  much  under  the  di- 
rection and  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the 
sacred  hymns.  For,  if  the  Spirit  of  God  conde- 
scended to  give  wisdom  in  all  kinds  of  6i  cunning 
work"  for  the  service  of  the  temple,  why  may 
we  not  believe,  that  be  gave  wisdom  also  to  de- 
vise appropriate  music  to  accompany  the  psalms 
and  hymns  of  his  own  inditing?  And  if  this  was 
the  case,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing 
that  it  was  otherwise,  the  music  of  the  temple 
was  included  in  the  inhibition,  not  to  add  thereto, 
nor  to  diminish  from  it." 

Of  what  kind  of  poetry  the  Temple-Hymns 
consisted,  our  Hebrew  Psalters1*  are  the  perma- 
nent vouchers ; — and  of  the  kind  of  music  to 
which  those  hymns  were  sung,  every  synagogue 
throughout  the  world  affords  a  variety  of  speci- 
mens. As  the  Hebrew  Psalms  consist  of  couplets, 


Jew,  whom  I  have  consulted  on  that  subject,  who  says,  that  the 
points  still  serve  two  purposes.  In  reading  the  Prophets  they  merely 
mark  accentuation;  but  in  atiaging  them,  the y  regulate  the  melody, 
not  only  as  to  long  and  short,  but  high  and  low  notes." 

Hist,  of  Music  t  vol.  i.  />.  25 1. 

*  By  the  aid  of  the  Masoretie  points,  and  numberless  alterations  in 
the  text,  professedly  for  the  sake  fcausa  rhetrij  of  metre,  Bishop 
Hare,  in  1756,  published  the  Book  of  Psalms,  fmetrice  divisusj  in 
Hebrew  metre,  in  lines  of  sometimes  equal  numbers  of  syllables,  and 
sometimes  unequal ;  and  frequently  with  rhyming  cadences.  But 
Bishop  Lowth  published  "  A  large  confutation  of  Bishop  Hare's 
Hebrew  metre/'  in  1753.  This  publication  has  silenced  the  assertion, 
that  rhymes,  and  modern  metres  are  characteristic  of  the  Hebrew 
Psalms,  and  other  scriptures. 

Dr.  ti  ray's  Hebrew  Job,  metric^  divisus,  stands  in  the  same  pre- 
dicament, as  Bishop  Hare's  Hebrew  Psalms,  metrice  dtvisi >•— both 
were  fabricated  out  of  compliment  to  rhyme ! 


(     232     ) 

and  sometimes  triplets,  of  lines  of  unequal  syl- 
lables, without  rhyming  cadenees,  unless  when 
they  happen  by  mere  chance,  it  is  impossible 
to  sing  them  to  metrical  music.  Indeed,  the 
traditionary  music  to  which  they  are,  and  always 
have  been  sung  in  the  synagogue,  is  exactly  of 
the  same  character  as  the  fcantofermoj  plain 
chant  of  the  Church,  which  is  partly  measured, 
and  partly  at  discretion. 

But  all  the  hymns  of  idolatrous  worship  were 
always  in  measured  verse;  and  consequently 
their  music  also  was  measured  throughout.  That 
this  was  the  case,  is  evident  from  the  specimens 
of  ancient  Greek  music  which  are  published  in 
Dr.  Burney's  History  of  Music* 

Such  being  the  difference  between  the  Psalmo- 
dy of  Judaism  and  the  Hymnology  of  Heathenism, 
that  the  one  consisted  of  measured  lines,  and  the 
other  of  unmeasured  ones;  it  was  absolutely  im>- 
possible  for  the  former  to  have  assimilated  to 
the  latter,  without  adding  to  short  lines,  and 
subtracting  from  long  ones ;  or  in  other  words, 
without  making  it  "  pass  through  the  syllable- 
squeezing  alembic  of  the  poets." 

Hence  it  is  evident  that  the  prohibitory  injunc- 
tion, "  Thou  shalt  not  add  thereto,  neither  shall 


*  During  the  fi>st  ages  of  Christianity,  s>llabie  and  metrical  music 
stem  to  have  been  used  in  the  temples  arid  theatres  of  the  Pagans 
only.  Hist,  of  .Music,  vol  ii.  p.  15. 

See  the  specimens  ef  Pagan  music  and  hymnology  in  toI.  i.  p.  89 


(     SS3     ) 

ye  diminish  from  it,"  precludes  the  versifying  of 
the  Hebrew  Psalms ;  and  of  consequence,  the 
versifying  of  every  future  translation  of  them* 

Under  the  evangelical  dispensation,  the  same 
injunction  is  repeated,  and  that  under  the  most 
awful  sanction. 

M"I  testify  (saith  Jesus  the  Amen)  unto  every 
man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of 
this  Book ;  if  any  man  shall  add  unto  these 
things,  God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  that 
are  written  in  this  book :  and  if  any  man  shall 
take  away  from  the  words  of  the  Book  of  this 
prophecy,  God  shall  take  away  his  part  out  of 
the  Book  of  Life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and 
from  the  things  which  are  written  in  this  Book."^ 

This  is  a  most  awful  declaration,  enough  to 
intimidate  the  heart  of  the  most  daring  versifier 
that  ever  existed.  This  line  of  circumvallation, 
for  the  preservation  of  Holy  Scripture  in  iis  pure 
and  immaculate  state,  is  infinitely  more  tremen- 
dous, than  that  which  was  drawn  around  Sinai, 
at  the  promulgation  of  the  Decalogue ! 

We  know  that  the  quibbles  of  syllogism,  and 
the  sophistry  of  metaphysics  have  been  made  to 
unite,  in  limiting  this  declaration  to  the  Book  of 
the  Apocalypse;  but  every  correct  Christian 
scholar  knows  that  the  words,  ««  Book  of  this 
prophecy,"  and  "  Prophecy  of  this  Book,"  are 


*  Rev.  xxii.  18,  19, 
U  % 


(     234     ) 

equivalent  expressions ;  and  that  the  demonstra- 
tive pronoun  this  refers,  not  to  one  individual 
section  of  the  Book  of  Prophecy,  but  to  the 
whole  of  it.  The  Book  of  Prophecy  is  an  one 
and  undivided  whole — it  is  what  we  call  the 
canon  of  scripture ;  and  every  paragraph  of  it, 
from  the  beginning  of  Genesis  to  the  end  of  the 
Apocalypse,  was  uttered  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy,  who  employed 
holy  men  to  be  his  amanuenses  and  prolocutors 
to  their  cotemporaries,  and  who,  though  dead, 
still  speak  to  us  in  their  writings.  These  writ- 
ings are  the  unchangeable  word  of  an  unchange- 
able God;  and  therefore  admit  not  of  additions, 
alterations,  or  suppressions  imposed  upon  them 
either  by  the  wisdom  or  the  folly  of  man. 

Sufficient  reason  there  is  for  surmising  that 
the  scripture  versifiers  either  had  never  read,  or 
had  never  sufficiently  considered  the  extent  of  the 
injunction  twice  pronounced  in  the  Book  of  Deu* 
teronomy,  and  once  in  that  of  St.  John's  Revela- 
tions; yet  it  were  presumptuous,  to  say  with 
what  degree  of  reverence  for  their  Bibles  they 
were  actuated,  during  the  several  periods  of  their 
poetical  exercises.  But  one  thing  relative  to  the 
Subject  is  well  known.  The  generality  of  those 
Protestants,  whose  ancestors  of  the  Reformation 
were  the  most  violent  opposers  of  Bible -psalmo- 
dy, and  the  most  zealous  advocates  for  versified 
miptures,  haye  gradually  turned  the  public  read? 


(     235     ) 

ing  of  the  scriptures  out  of  their  churches  ;  and 
at  the  present  time,  in  very  few  of  them,  is  scrip- 
ture read  as  a  constituent  part  of  public  worship;* 
and  where  any  is  read,  the  selection  is  merely 
casual,  at  the  discretion  of  the  minister,  or  read, 
as  the  custom  is  in  Scotland,  by  the  parochial 
schoolmaster. 

The  freedom  fpoetica  licentiaj  which  is  neces- 
sary to  be  assumed  by  the  poet,  to  enable  him  to 
versify  psalms  and  other  scriptures,  has  an  im- 
mediate tendency  to  lower  their  dignity,  and  to 
diminish  the  awful  distance  between  him  and  their 
august  Author;  and  it  is  much  to  be  feared  that 
the  license  assumed  by  the  poet  imperceptibly 
infuses  itself  into  raetre-psalraodists,  before  they 
are  aware  of  it,  causing  them  to  make  an  undue 
sacrifice  to  artificial  scriptures,  at  the  expense 
of  the  natural  ones ; — and  to  the  animal  sense 
of  hearing,  at  the  expense  of  the  heart  with  its 
affections. 

That  a  regard  for  metrified  scriptures  superior 
to  that  which  is  paid  to  prosaic  ones  exists,  daily 
observation  fully  evinces.  Instead  of  committing 
the  Psalms  of  David  to  memory,  as  was  the  cus- 
tom of  ancient  times;  now,  portions  of  Tate  and 
Brady's  have  the  preference.  In  mauy  worship- 
ping  assemblies,   where    scarcely    any  prosaie 

•  Socinianism  is  one  of  the  dire  consequences  of  ejecting  the  Holv 
Scriptures  out  of  worshipping  assemblies. 
A  scripture-calendar  is  peculiar  to  Episcopal  Churches. 


(     256     ) 

scriptures  arc  reach  scripture  paraphrases  in 
abundance  are  swag;  and  in  assemblies  where 
prosaic  scriptures  are  read  as  constituent  parts  of 
daily  service,  there  exists  a  cold  unwillingness  to 
sing  the  praises  of  God  in  scripture  forms,  and 
a  lively  propensity  to  sing  in  metrical  forms,  the 
fruits  of  human  imagination. 

It  is  one  of  the  consequences  of  exercising  the 
art  of  versification  upon  the  word  of  God9  that 
scriptures  in  one  form  have  become  rivals  to 
scriptures  in  another.  And  it  is  an  undeniable 
fact,  that  the  prayers,  the  praises,  and  the  sa- 
crifices, which,  during  the  ages  of  paganism, 
were  offered  to  the  image  of  Diana,  at  no  time 
exceeded  the  profusion  of  respect,  and  the  plau- 
dits of  admiration,  which,  for  upwards  of  two 
and  a  half  centuries,  have  been  presented  before 
the  shrine  of  metrical  psalmody  !# 

In  the  prayer  prescribed  by  our  blessed  Lord, 
the  first  petition  is — «  Hallowed  be  thy  name." 

*  "  xVre  the  prophetic  writings  the  subjects  of  inquiry  ?  They 
are  reduced  to  the  low  standard  of  the  versus  inopes  rerum,  nugde* 
que  canone  of  the  heathen  verse--wriq-hts3  and  subjected  to  the 
metrical  rules  of  ethic  poesy ;  those  ftdse  embellishments  and  tinsel 
ornaments,  invented  by  the  (^entiles  after  thev  had  changed  the  truth 
of  (iod  into  a  lie"  Spearman? s  Letters  on  the  LXX.  p.  482. 

<l  And  it  is  not  an  open  enemy  that  has  lift  up  his  heel  against  me, 
and  done  me  this  dishonour,"  may  the  scripture  say ;  "  but  it  is  he 
who  did  eat  of  my  b'ead,  even  thou  my  companion,  my  guide,  and 
mine  own  familiar  friend :  we  took  sweet  counsel  together,  and  walk- 
ed in  the  house  of  <-iod  as  friends."  No  truth  is  more  obvious  to  an 
unprejudiced  mind,  than  that  ethnicized  scriptures  are,  in  their 
nature  and  consequences,  as  inimical  to  the  originals ,  and  all  autho- 
rized prosaic  translations,  as  the  religion  of  nature  is  to  that  of 
■revelation.;  for  both  in  reality  but  betray  th«  cause  which  they  pre- 
tend to  support. 


(  «w  ) 

All  Christians  acknowledge  that  this  is  a  very 
comprehensive  petition,  embracing  all  the  names, 
offices,  titles,  attributes,  prerogatives,  and  pro- 
perty of  every  sort,  which  appertains  to  our  hea- 
venly Father.  But  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  the 
property  of  God;  this  is  also  coufessed,  for  we 
call  them  the  word  of  God.  They  are  ours 
in  a  secondary  sense,  as  a  matter  of  trust  only. 
They  have  not  been  given  to  man,  after  the  man- 
ner of  earthly  things,  to  "  have  dominion"  over 
them,  and  to  apply  them  to  the  purposes  of  self- 
gratification.  Like  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  the 
sacraments,  they  are  things  of  an  absolute  na- 
ture, and  admit  not  of  alterations  and  improve- 
ments suggested  by  human  imagination.  They 
are  the  unalienable  property  of  their  divine  Au- 
thor, who,  though  he  is  gracious  and  liberal  Of 
his  favours,  is  yet  jealous  of  his  prerogatives,  as 
well  as  watchful  over  his  property. 

If  then,  David  and  other  M  holy  men  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost;"  and  if, 
participating  of  the  sanctity  and  eternity  of  it's 
author,  Holy  Scripture  cannot  but  be  considered 
God's  exclusive, and  therefore  intactable  property, 
bearing  both  his  seal  and  signature,  in  all  good 
conscience  we  are  bound  to  honour  it  with  many 
honours,  and  to  pay  it  all  the  respect  and  rever- 
ence which  are  in  our  power  to  confer.  But,  who 
will  say  that  metrifying,  interpolating,  and  secu- 
larizing scripture  into  the  sluice  and  condition  of 


(     238     ) 

a  common  ballad,  is  honouring,  respecting,  and 
hallowing  it?  Is  not  a  tampering  with  the  oracles 
of  Jehovah  a  freedom  that  would  be  deemed  cul- 
pable, if  taken  with  the  ordinances  of  man  ?  And 
bow  ill  does  the  altering  of  the  words  that  have 
proceeded  out  of  his  mouth,  from  their  natural 
into  an  artificial  condition,  accord  with  "  the 
reverence  and  fear  of  his  holy  name,"  which 
we  profess  to  cultivate?  Respect  for  the  all-gra- 
cious Speaker  is  infinitely  better  manifested,  by 
attentively  treasuring  up  his  words  in  our  hearts, 
and  faithfully  transcribing  them  into  our  lives, 
than  by  turning  them  into  rhyme,  under  any  pre- 
text whatsoever. 

How  is  it  possible  then,  that  the  metrifying  of 
any  part  or  parts  of  divine  revelation  can  comport 
with  the  full  intent  of  the  petition,  "  Hallowed 
fee  thy  name?" 

Not  only  have  the  Psalms  and  other  scriptures 
been  degraded*  from  the  station  which  they  hold 
in  the  canon  of  scripture,  by  putting  them  into 
the  condition  of  common  ballads;  but  the  use  to 
which  they  are  put  in  that  form  bespeaks  their 
servile  condition.     In  this  condition  they  are  no 

•  No  sooner  were  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Creed,  and  the 
'Jen  Commandments  expunged  from  the  Churches  throughout  the 
Island  of  Britain,  than  they  wefe-hung  up  in  taverns,  boarding-houses, 
and  shops  of  every  description,  in  a.  metrical  form,  printed  in  large 
•haracters,  some  as  they  came  f  om  thr  press,  others  handsomely 
framed; — and  multitudes  took  pleasure  in  repeating  tho«e  rhymes, 
•whilst  they  disdained  to  look  at  the  original  prose  !! ! 

O  rhythmic  mania,  of  what  impiety  hast  thou  not  been  guilty?  Of 
what  act  of  sacrilege  bast  thou  net  been  a  promoter i 


(     239     ) 

component  parts  of  divine  service,  they  are  only 
voluntaries,  or  vocal  pauses  between  the  several 
parts  of  it.  In  their  prosaic  state,  the  psalms 
and  other  scriptures  have  the  same  duties  to  per- 
form as  the  priests  of  old,  attending  the  taber- 
nacle of  witness :  but  in  their  ballad-form,  they 
may  be  said  to  resemble  the  Gibeonites,  who  were 
•nly  hewers  of  wood,  and  drawers  of  water. 

There  is  certainly  a  want  of  congruity  in  hav- 
ing two  sets  of  psalms ;  the  one,  Holy  Scripture, 
and  the  other,  neither  scripture  nor  human  com- 
position, but  a  compound  of  both.  In  churches, 
where  all  the  prosaic  psalms  of  morning  and 
evening  service  are  only  read;  it  frequently  hap- 
pens that  some  portions  of  those  very  psalms  in 
metre  are  sung  as  interludes! 

Who  is  so  blind  as  not  to  see  the  impropriety 
of  this  practice,  and  that  it  originates  from  in- 
correct views  of  the  nature  of  the  rival  psalms?* 

It  hath  been  said,  that  we  ought  to  be  familiar 
with  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  and  that,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  this  familiarity,  we  may  commit  our  me- 
ditations to  paper  either  in  prose  or  verse. 

My  subject  leads  me  not  to  take  cognizance  of 


*  The  distinction  between  prosaic  and  metre  psalms,  which 
denominates  the  former  "  the  rending  Psalms,"  and  the  latter 
"  The  singing  Psalms,"  is  a  very  unfair  one,  a3  it  tends  to  sanclioa 
an  opinion,  that  prosaic  psalms  are  fit  to  be  read  only,  and  that  me- 
tre ones  are  exclusively  deserving  of  being  sung.  This  distinction 
was  at  first  admitted  into  ecclesiastical  writings,  either  in  italics  or 
with  marks  of  quotation;  but  in  process  of  time  it  hath  found  its  ware 
mto  the  text.    Deception  has  many  subterfuges ! 


(     240     ) 

private  opinion,  or  private  practice  founded  upon 
individual  taste ;  yet,  I  may  warrantably  affirm, 
that  the  generality,  if  not  the  whole  of  studious 
Christians  will  be  able,  much  more  successfully 
to  write  their  devotional  meditations  in  prose, 
than  in  verse.  Humility  and  self-abasement,  the 
direct  opposites  to  the  license  of  poetry,  will  for 
ever  hang  like  a  mill-stone  around  the  neck  of 
the  Christian  poet,  and  render  his  lines  vapid,  fee- 
ble, and  unanimated,  nothing  better  than  rhyming 
prose.  And  what  advantage  does  he  gain  by  put- 
ting the  scriptures  into  this  state  ?  Does  the  sa- 
cred edifice  of  Revelation  become  more  venera- 
ble in  his  eyes,  after  being  humanized?  Or  are 
the  joints  of  the  already  "  squared  stones  and 
timber"  rendered  more  compact  and  perfect,  by 
exercising  M  the  saws,  hammers,  and  axes,"  of 
the  art  of  poetry  upon  them  ? 

If  this  be  the  familiarity  recommended,  it  is 
fair  to  assert,  that  in  the  proportion  of  manufac- 
turing the  scriptures  thus,  will  be  our  reverence 
and  respect  for  them.  A  familiarity  with  the 
scriptures,  so  that  we  may  thereby  "  become 
wise  unto  salvation,  is  highly  commendable.  St. 
Paul  approves  of  the  Christians  of  Berea,  for 
«  searching  the  scriptures  daily;"  and  enjoins  it 
upon  the  Colossian  and  the  Ephesian  Christians, 
to  "  let  the  word  of  God  dwell  in  them  richly, 
in  psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs." 
But  such  a  familiarity  as  prompts  men  to  make 


(     24*     ) 

ihe  scriptures  themes  or  exercises  for  a  display 
of  poetical  talents,  savours  more  of  vanity  and 
pride,  than  of  humility  and  godly  reverence. 
If  we  call  God  our  Father,  it  does  not  follow, 
that  we  ought  to  be  as  familiar  with  him,  as  with 
our  earthly  parents.  And  if  we  are  intimate 
with  his  holy  word,  ought  we  to  treat  it  as  a 
fund  for  subjects  of  amusement  or  recreation? 

It  is  more  than  probable,  that  a  great  propor- 
tion of  the  metrified  seriptures,  with  which  Eu- 
rope and  America  abound,  owe  their  existence, 
as  much,  if  not  more,  to  trials  of  skill  in  versifi- 
cation, than  to  any  better  principle.  The  heart 
of  man  is  deceitful  to  itself;  and  from  a  retros- 
pective condemnation  of  my  own  practice  in  this 
particular,  I  am  led  to  think,  it  may  have  been 
the  case  with  other  versifiers  of  scripture,  that, 
whilst  they  imagined  they  were  doing  God  service, 
they  were  committing  the  wildest  of  idolatry — 
burning  incense  to  their  own  vanity  and  presump- 
tion !  Ah !  how  little  do  we  know  ourselves,  un- 
til we  are  sent  to  some  Ananias  for  instruction!* 
It  is  not  foreign  to  our  subject  to  remark,  that 
verse  or  poetry  (including  the  idea  of  measured 
feet  and  rhymiug  cadences)  is  not  the  style  or 
form  of  diction  which  is  natural  to  man ; — it  is 
merely  that  of  art  and  contrivance.  What  nation 


*  A  learned  Jew  in  Newport,  R.  I.  many  years  sinc<j,  first  suggested 
this  question  to  the  writer;  "  By  what  authority  have  you  Christians 
turned  David's  Psalms  into  verse?" 

X 


(     242     ) 

op  society  of  men  ever  spoke,  wrote,  or  did  bu- 
siness in  hexameters,  pentameters,  in  blank 
verse,  or  even  in  rhyme,  which  is  the  lowest  or- 
der of  verse  ?  Nay,  let  a  man  take  it  into  his 
head,  to  adopt  the  notion  of  speaking  in  rhyme, 
it  is  easy  to  say,  how  we  would  estimate  his  un- 
derstanding, as  well  as  his  courtesy. 

Let  a  poet,*  intending  to  metrify  any  part  or 
parts  of  the  sacred  scriptures,  imagine  himself 
standing  in  the  midst  of  a  synagogue  of  the  pro- 
phets, to  receive  their  sentence  on  his  proposed 
scheme  of  versifying  the  Psalms  of  David,  and 
other  scriptures. 

In  what  manner  would  they  make  their  reply 
to  his  proposition  ?  Would  they  say,  Go  on,  and 
prosper,  and  the  Lord  be  with  thee  ?  Or  rather, 
would  not  they  express  their  astonishment  at 
his  presumption?  Would  not  the  fire  of  indigna- 
tion flash  from  every  eye,  and  resentment  kindle 
upon  every  cheek?  Would  not  those  venerable 
men  exclaim,  Novelist !  art  thou  wiser  than  the 
Giver  of  all  wisdom  ?  WThat  hast  thou,  that  thou 
hast  not  received  ?  And  hast  thou  received  more 
than  the  Giver  hath  reserved  to  himself?  Art  thou 


*  All  the  rites  of  heathen  mythology  have  their  origin  in  the  di- 
vine communications,  just  as  all  fiction  is  founded  in  truth ;  and  a 
scholar,  with  the  Bible  in  his  hands,  may  easily  discern,  in  ever)-  ce- 
remony and  usage  of  paganism,  a  mimicry  and  perversion  of  some 
part  of  the  worship  or  discipline  instituted  by  Jehovah.  By  perver- 
sions of  these,  the  nations  of  the  earth,  as  if  by  common  consent^ 
"  turned  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie;"  and  in  the  doing  so,  their  poets 
were  the  principal  agents. 


(     243     ) 

able  to  give  counsel  to  the  all-wise  Jehovah; 
Hast  thou  found  out  wisdom  which  was  hidden 
from  God?  God  hath  spoken,  and  wilt  thou  alter 
the  words  which  have  gone  out  of  his  mouth  ? 
He  worketh,  and  no  man  can  let  it ;  he  speaketh, 
and  no  man  can  add  wisdom  to  his  words.  Look 
unto  the  heavens,  and  see ;  aud  behold  the  clouds 
which  are  higher  than  thou ;  and  then  say,  canst 
thou  alter  the  ordinances  of  heaven,  or  subvert 
the  seasons  of  the  year?  Look  into  thy  Bible, 
and  behold  in  it  the  verbal  representative  of  Je- 
hovah ;  and  say,  wherein  his  holy  word  is  erro- 
neous, deficient,  or  redundant.  If  thy  wisdom  is 
able  to  correct  and  amend  it,  then  art  thou  wiser 
than  God !  Shall  not  his  excellency  make  thee 
afraid,  and  doth  not  a  fear  of  his  displeasure  fall 
upon  thee  ?  Hearken  unto  God,  hold  thy  peace, 
and  he  shall  teach  thee  wisdom.  Set  not  up  thy 
horn  on  high,  and  speak  not  with  a  stiff  neck, 
saying,  "  I  am  able  to  add  harmony  to  his  words, 
I  can  render  them  more  grand  and  majestic  than 
he  hath  done ;"  for  the  proud  boasie?  is  art  hbomi* 
natiou,  and  he  who  taketh  his  name  in  vain  shall 
not  go  unpunished.  God  is  not  a  man,  that  he 
should  change;  nor  does  the  Ancient  of  days  take 
pleasure  in  mutability.  He  hath,  by  his  Holy 
Spirit,  supplied  his  servants  with  abundance  of 
the  incense  of  praise  to  accompany  the  appointed 
white  lambs  of  the  evening  and  morning  oblation, 
and  the  other  sacrifices  have  also  their  ample 


(    *•    ) 

smareof  the  same  sweet-smelling  odour  to  attend- 
them.  And  darest  thou  to  roh  the  Most  High, 
by  substituting  thy  own  rhymes  in  the  stead  of 
what  he  himself  hath  appointed  and  commanded 
10  be  used  for  praising  and  magnifying  his  glori- 
ous name?  With  equal  impunity  a  High  Priest 
of  our  Law  might  have  substituted  party-coloured 
!ambs  in  the  stead  of  white  ones;  as  thou,  to 
rhange  the  psalms  of  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel 
irom  their  Bible  state  into  the  measures  of  secu- 
lar poetry.  Impious,  to  think  of  compelling  the 
swigs  of  Zion  to  assimilate  with  the  songs  of  the 
ticathen,  whs  know  not  Israel's  God.  Tremble 
at  the  thunders  of  Sanai,  and  remember  that  the 
Lord  Jehovah  is  a  jealous  God. 

And  were  the  poet  to  present  himself  before 
♦;  the  glorious  company  of  the  apostles,"  on  the 
same  business,  doubtless  they  would  address  him 
in  some  such  manner  as  the  following. 

Thou  art  none  of  us  ;  we  know  thee  not;  whence 
»K  thou  :  by  what  authority  dost  thou  undertake 
fo  chiu^-ej  to  interpolate,  mutilate  any  part  or 
puns  of?  the  revelation  of  Jesus  ?  He  spake  as 
never  maa  spake  :  grace  was  poured  out  upon  his 
lips,  mm  the  lire  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  sitting  on? 
his  tongue,  irradiated  every  word  that  proceeded 
out  of  his  month.  Ignorant  and  unlearned  as 
v.  e  were  at  our  iirst  acquaintance  with  the  Lord, 
we  received  such  a  portion  of  his  eloquence,  that 
oar  persecutors  remarked,    that   we  had  beea 


(     245     ) 

with  Jesus.  Nay,  out  of  the  ahundance  of  his 
grace,  we  have  received  a  mouth  and  wisdom 
which  our  adversaries  have  not  heen  able  to  gain- 
say nor  resist.  But,  who  art  thou,  who  presum- 
est  to  think,  that  thou  art  able,  in  thy  proposed 
versifications,  either  to  improve  or  give  addition- 
al efficacy  to  the  writings  of  the  Prophets  and 
the  Apostles  ?  It  is  not  in  rhyme,  that  the  ser- 
vants of  Jesus  preserve  the  word  of  his  testimony; 
it  is  in  prose,  whether  in  the  originals,  or  in  ver- 
nacular translations.  If  thou  desirest  to  become 
a  witness  for  Jesus,  give  thy  testimony  in  the 
diction  of  his  Prophets  and  Apostles,  but  not  in 
the  perfidious  lines  of  rhyme.  Wast  thou  pre- 
sent with  us  on  the  dav  of  Pentecost,  when  Jesus 
sent  down  the  Holy  Ghost  to  guide  us  unto  all 
truth?  Wast  thou  born  during  the  times  of  pri- 
mitive Christianity,  the  ages  of  direct  inspiration  ? 
Nay,  thou  wast  born  many  centuries  after  the 
cessation  of  extraordinary  illumination,  and  canst' 
have  no  pretence,  that  a  divine  impulse  prompts 
thy  undertaking.  The  imagination  of  thy  own 
heart  hath  dictated  to  thee  this  unhallowed  con- 
ceit, which  verily  is  a  reflection  on  the  wisdom 
of  the  all-wise  God.  Thou  sayest  in  thine  heart, 
"  I  am  wiser  than  God,  I  can  make  men  wise 
above  all  that  is  written,  I  can  increase  the  sub- 
limity of  his  scriptures  by  versifying  them,  I  can 
give  them  additional  majesty  by  turning  them  into 
rhyme  !"   Shall  the  creature  say  to  the  Creator, 


(     2M     ) 

Why  Last  thou  made  me  thus  2  Shall  the  natnraf 
man,  who  is  at  enmity  against  God,  undertake 
to  give  improvements  to  the  scriptures  of  truth, 
the  glorious  word  of  reconciliation  ?  If  verse 
were  the  best  method  of  making  men  wise  unto 
salvation,  the  divine  wisdom  would  have  dictated 
them  in  verse;  but  they  are  in  a  diction  quite  un- 
like the  metrical  writings  of  the  heathen;  and 
thy  aim  is  to  pervert,  distort,  and  mix  them  with 
thy  own  conceits,  in  order  to  assimilate  the  songs 
of  Zion  to  those  of  the  carnal  muse.  Thy  ima- 
gination lifteth  itself  up  against  God ;  thou  ex- 
altest  thyself  against  the  Almighty.  Thou  aim- 
est  at  becoming  a  partner  with  God  in  his  divine 
revelations,  and  at  rivalling  his  prosaic  scriptures 
)>  thy  mctrificd  ones.  In  writing  the  original 
scriptures,  thou  hast  had  neither  part  nor  lot  with 
*he  Prophets  and  Apostles.  In  transforming 
iliem  into  the  likeness  of  the  hymns  of  paganism, 
Jiou  wilt  be  found  to  have  thy  part  and  lot  with 
lie  adversaries  to  truth.  Thy  heart  is  not  right 
in  the  sight  of  God  ;  repent  therefore  of  this  thy 
wickedness,  and  pray  God,  that  the  thoughts  of 
thy  heart  may  be  forgiven  thee.  Remove  not 
[no  ancient  land-mark,  which  the  Prophets  and 
ApoLUcs  have  set ;  so  shall  thou  have  peace  at 
;hy  latter  end. 

As  to  prosaic  hymns  of  human  composition, 
vritten  under  the  direct  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit:  they  stand  upon  quite  a  different  ground 


(     2*r     ) 

from  that  of  versifications  or  paraphrases  of  hofr 
scripture.  Such  hymns  as  the  Te  Deum.  Trisa- 
gium,  and  Gloria  inExeelsis,  were  admitted  into 
the  church  before  the  grace  of  inspiration  was 
discontinued ;  but  when  the  Holy  Spirit  saw  that 
that  gift  was  no  longer  necessary,  general  councils 
interfered,  and  put  a  stop  to  the  admission  of  all 
subsequent  human  compositions  into  the  sanctu- 
ary. And  hence  it  is,  that  all  the  prosaic  hymns 
of  human  composition,  which  are  to  be  found  in 
any  of  the  ancient  Liturgies,  are  of  date  co-eval 
with  the  times  of  inspiration. 

With  respect  to  metre  hymns  of  human  com- 
position, though  they  have  no  claim  to  the  sanc- 
tion of  inspiration,  as  they  originated  in  the  end 
of  the  fourth  century ;  yeU  being  no  where  in 
scripture  directly  or  indirectly  interdicted,  they 
have  long  been  admitted  into  worshipping  assem- 
blies ;  and  they  may  still  be  continued,  provided 
they  are  in  measures  commensurate  to  their  sub- 
jects— intelligibly  expressed — in  unison  with  the 
general  harmony  of  scripture — having  allusions 
to  scripture  subjects — but  embracing  no  texts  un- 
der any  degree  of  rhythmical  alteration. 

It  hath  already  been  shown  how  hostile  to  scrip- 
ture precision  are  the  measured  feet  and  chiming 
syllables  of  rhyme — and  the  numberless  tricks, 
tropes,  and  whims,  which  are  the  inseparable 
concomitants  of  all  poetical  versions  or  paraphra- 
ses of  the  word  of  God,    It  hath  also  been  points 


(     248     ) 

ed  out,  that,  as  poetry  is  an  effort  of  the  human 
imagination,  and  is  most  successfully  displayed 
in  works  of  fancy,  it  cannot  do  otherwise  than 
run  wild,  whenever  it  undertakes  to  operate  upon 
subjects,  which  have  emanated,  not  from  the  hu- 
man heart,  but  from  the  spirit  of  infinite  wisdom 
and  truth.  And,  did  our  limits  permit,  it  were 
no  hard  task  to  adduce  confessions  from  the  works 
of  some  of  the  most  celebrated  poets,  that  the 
art  of  poetry  is  more  congenial  with  fiction,  than 
with  truth.  Proofs  also  could  be  adduced,  to  de- 
monstrate that  the  poetical  license,  when  exercis- 
ed in  versifying  scripture,  becomes  an  assumed 
privilege  for  trifling  with  the  oracles  of  Al- 
mighty God. 

The  quaintness  of  expression,  the  bombast  of 
diction,  the  measures  of  feet,  and  the  chiming 
cadences  of  rhyme,  may  humour  the  human 
fancy,  gratify  the  vanity  of  man,  and  tickle  the 
sensual  ear; — yet,  it  is  much  to  be  feared,  that 
the  ultimate  tendency  of  all  pretended  improve- 
ments of  the  diction  of  holy  scripture,  is  to 
throw  mankind  into  a  condition  similar  to  that  of 
those  persons,  concerning  whom  St.  Paul  thus 
says;  "  They  became  vain  in  their  imaginations, 
their  foolish  heart  was  darkened,  and  professing 
to  be  wise,  they  became  fools."  And  indeed,  this 
is  the  very  condition,*  into  which  every  one  is  in 

Quxre.  What  would  be  the  condition  of  any  nation  five  or  six  hun- 
dred years  henee,  which,  from  a  predilection  for  one  Book  of  the  scrip- 


(     2i9     ) 

danger  of  falling,  who  desires,  by  humanly-con- 
trived means,  to  "  become  wise  above  what  is  writ- 
ten.'**  A  thirst  for  knowledge  superior  to  what 
God  had  communicated,  occasioned  the  defection 
of  our  primeval  parents ;  and  a  similar  thirst 
cannot  but  produce  a  similar  effect  upon  every 
one  of  their  posterity. 

From  a  serious  consideration  of  the  blind  at- 
tachment which  actuates  the  admirers  of  versi- 
fied scriptures,  I  have  often  been  led  to  think  of 
the  case  of  one  of  the  kings  of  Judah ;  of  whom 
it  is  recorded,  that,  ««  he  was  diseased  in  his  feet, 
until  his  disease  was  exceeding  great;  yet  in  his 
disease,  he  sought  not  to  the  Lord,  but  to  the 
physicians."|  And,  is  not  this  precisely  the  case 
of  every  one  who  prefers  the  paraphrases  of  the 
poets  (o  the  psalms  and  hymns  of  the  Prophets 
and  Apostles — the  fruits  of  human  imagination 
to  the  fruits  of  the  tree  of  life  ? 

Even  the  putting  of  prosaic  and  metrical  psalm- 
ody into  opposite  scales,  is  a  proof  that  a  rival- 
ship  still  subsists  between  them.  But,  how  dif- 
ferent are  their  claims  to  precedency  ?  Prosaic 
psalmody  entered  with  the  shepherd,  ««  by  the 
door  into  the  sheepfold ;" — but  metrical  psalm- 
ody "  climbed  up  some  other  way."     And  the 


fures  in  verse,  should  be  impelled  to  versify  the  whole  for  public  us;1  ? 
Would  it  not  be  fair  to  say,  that  the  consequences.   \>  hich  would  arise 
fcom  the  use  of  a  versification  of  the  whol?  Hook,  would  be  in  propor- 
tion to  those,  which  daily  arise  from  the  use  of  versified  pails  of  V.'. 
*  iicm.  i.  21.  and  1  (Jar.  iv.  6.  f  2  Cferca.  ml  i^. 


(     250     ) 

footing,  which  at  first  it  obtained  by  intrusion, 
it  now  holds  by  prescription. 

A  rivalship,  for  ought  I  know,  may  be  kept  up 
between  metrical  and  prosaic  psalmody,  even  un- 
to the  day  of  judgment;  but  then  it  will  most  as- 
suredly cease.  For  the  word  of  the  Lord  en- 
dureth  for  ever ;  but  every  thing  that  exalteth 
itself  against  this  word,  shall  be  brought  low, 
and  cease  to  exist.*  This  is  the  "  sure  word  of 
prophecy,  whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take 
heed,  as  unto  a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place, 
until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day-star  arise  in  your 
hearts.  For  prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by 
the  will  of  man ;  but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."| 

Holding  fast  the  Book  of  God,  us  the  intacti- 
tole  charter  of  human  redemption,  well  may  we 
exclaim  in  the  words  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Romans ; 
*«  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom 
and  knowledge  of  God!  How  unsearchable  are 
his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out ! 
For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  (he  Lord  ?  Or 
who  hath  been  his  counsellor?  Or  who  hath  first 
given  to  him.  and  it  shall  be  recompensed  unto 
him  again  ?  For,  of  him,  and  through  him,  and 
to  him.  are  all  things  \  to  whom  be  glory  for 
ever.     Amen."i 


*  All  the  Hallelujahs  of  the  church  triumphant,  recorded  by  Si? 
Jfohn  in  his  Apoealvpse,  are  in  prosaic  diction. 

\  t  Pet.  i,  iy,  SI."  *  Horn.  xi.  53—35. 


(     251     ) 

«  Let  the  word  of  Christ,"  brethren,  ( the 
originals  or  the  vernacular  scriptures  J  dwell  in 
you  richly  in  all  wisdom;  teaching,  and  admo- 
nishing one  another  in  psalms,  and  hymns,  and 
spiritual  songs ;  singing  with  grace  in  your  hearts 
to  the  Lord.  And  whatsoever  ye  do  in  word  or 
deed,  do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  giv- 
ing thanks  to  God  and  the  Father  by  him."* 

Having  thus  exhibited  a  full,  and  I  trust  satis- 
factory demonstration  of  the  impropriety,  and  the 
unlawfulness,  of  turning  the  Psalms  of  David, 
and  other  parts  of  holy  scripture,  into  verse ;  I 
proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  ostensible 
plea,  ««  that  in  that  form  they  may  he  sung  to  the 
tunes  used  in  churches." 

As  syllabic  psalmody  seems,  by  all  the  anti- 
episcopal  reformers,  to  have  been  considered  the 
consummate  point  of  excellency,  the  very  shib- 
boleth and  test  of  reformation,  nay  even  of  Chris- 
tianity itself;  it  is  necessary  to  examine  this  plea 
minutely,  in  order  to  ascertain  its  nature,  object, 
and  tendency. 

Ever  since  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  the 
Church  of  Rome  had  used  in  her  public  offices  a 
variety  of  metre  hymnsf  of  human  composition, 


*  Colos.  iii.  16,  17. 

f  About  the  year  390,  Prudentius  (Quintus  Aurelius)  a  Spaniard, 
by  profession  first  a  lawyer,  then  a  judge,  then  a  soldier,  then  the 
first  Christian  Hymnologist,  composed  a  number  of  metre  hymns, 
which,  by  some  means  or  another,  found  their  way  into  the  Church 
of  Rome;  but  soon  after  Gregory  came  to  the  pontificate  (in  590)  ; 
he  ejected  all  metre  music  from  the  offices  of  religion,  "  beeause  it 


(     252     ) 

*n  many  of  the  measures  both  of  the  Greek  and 
Roman  poets.  This  is  apparent  from  history,  as 
well  as  from  the  most  ancient  breviaries  and 
missals  which  are  extant.  But  in  none  of  these 
are  any  metrified  scriptures  to  be  found.  The 
yersifiealion  of  scripture,  therefore,  next  to  the 
rejection  of  Episcopacy,  became  a  point  of  so 
great  importance  for  securing  a  line  of  demarka- 
tion  between  non-Episcopalians  (particularly  those 
of  the  Calvinian  section)  and  Episcopalians  whe- 
ther Protestant  or  Popish,  that  its  votaries,  how- 
ever much  they  differed  from  one  another  in  ar- 
ticles of  faith  and  doctrines  of  practice,  yet  were 
unanimous  in  declaiming  against  the  use  of  pro- 
saic or  scripture  psalmody,  and  in  extolling  me- 
tre psalms  and  the  tunes  used  in  their  churches. 

Indeed  no  better  scheme,  for  disseminating  and 
fixing  the  peculiar  tenets  of  each  party,  could 
have  been  devised,  than  that  of  giving  different 
versifications  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  the  Bible 
in  miniature,  as  Luther  calls  them.  The  putting 
the  psalms  out  of  the  form  of  close  translation, 
into  the  artificial  guise  of  verse,  was  a  sure  and 
certain  expedient,  whereby  those  reformers 
might,  without  alarming  the  cursory  reader  or 
singer's  jealousy,  be  made  to  express  whatever 
peculiarities  of  opinion  the  versifier  thought 
proper  to  ingraft  into  them. 

■was  too  gay  and  heathenish."  In  process  of  time,  however,  most  of 
Pruch-ntius'  ejected  hymns  were  restored,  and  by  succeeding  authori- 
ties others  also  were  added.    Fkxiry's  EccL  Hist.  torn.  viii.  p.  150. 


(     253     ) 

To  the  French  metre  psalms,  written  partly 
by  Marot,  and  partly  by  Beza,  and  published 
under  the  auspices  of  Calvin,  music  was  set  by 
three  Swiss  musicians.  It  is  this  music  which 
was,  by  way  of  eminence,  called,  "  The  tunes  used 
in  churches."*  Those  tunes  have  generally 
among  the  Calvinists  been  called  "  The  Refor- 
mation-tunes," because  they  mightily  subserved 
the  views  of  that  reformer.  To  the  measures  of 
those  tunes  the  first  English  rhyme  psalms  were 
professedly  "  fitted ;99  for  the  title-page  of  Stern- 
hold  and  Hopkins's  version  professes  the  metres 
to  be  "fitted  to  the  tunes  used  in  churches:99  and 
various  editions  of  Tate  and  Brady's  psalms  pay 
the  same  compliment  to  the  tunes  used  in  churches. 
The  profession  made  by  Sternhold  and  Hopkins 
was  made  sometime  before  those  tunes  had  crept 
into  any  of  the  churches  of  North  or  South  Bri- 
tain ;  and  the  compliment  was  renewed  by  Tate 
and  Brady  long  after  they  had  got  possession  of 
them. 

St.  Paul  lays  it  down  as  an  axiom,  or  self-evi- 
dent truth,  that  «  the  less  is  blessed  of  the  bet- 
ter."! Now,  if  we  apply  this  axiom  to  the  ease 
of  "fitting  the  Psalms  of  David  to  the  tunes  used 
in  churches,'9  the  argument  will  run  thus. 

"  The  less  is  blessed  of  the  better,"  the  supe- 
rior, or  the  more  excellent,  not  by  a  reduction  of 

*  See  a  farther  account  of  those  tunes  in  the  Appendix,  Sect.  IT 
A  He*>.  vii.  7. 


(     254     ) 

excellency  in  the  superior  to  a  level  of  character 
in  the  inferior;  but  by  a  conformation  of  deport- 
ment in  the  inferior,  to  the  will,  and  dignity  of 
character  in  the  superior.  But,  in  the  case  of 
fitting  the  Psalms  to  the  tunes  used  in  churches, 
the  former,  the  superior,  were  changed  from  the 
majesty  of  prose,  into  the  puerilities  of  rhyme, 
out  of  respect  for  the  latter  : — as  if  the  tunes  used 
in  churches  had  been  fprccstantioresj  the  better, 
the  more  excellent,  and  the  Fsalms  (minores) 
the  inferior,  or  the  less  excellent. 

Therefore,  because  the  songs  of  the  sweet 
singer  of  Israel  were  dagraded  from  their  vene- 
rable seat  among  the  prophetic  writings,  and  se- 
cularized into  the  unhallowed  condition  of  com- 
mon ballads;*  unless  sufficient  reason  can  be 
given  for  believing  that  the  tunes  used  in  churches 
are  of  higher  authenticity  than  the  Psalms,  we 
jnust  consider  the  fitting  of  them  to  those  tunes 
ft  presumptuous  undertaking — a  direct  inversion 
of  the  Apostle's  axiom ;  and  that,  instead  of 
"  the  less  being  blessed  of  the  better,"  the  better 
was  blessed  of  the  less;  which  were  not  only 
absurd  to  say,  but  impious  to  affirm. 

But  the  plea  for  titling  the  Psalms  to  the  tunes 
used  in  churches,  or  indeed  to  anv  music  of  man's 


*  The  rhyme  psalms  of  Sternhokl  and  Hopkins  were  sung  to  com- 
mon song-tunes  from  the  latter  times  of  Henry  VlJf.  to  the  year  1548, 
v.-hen  they,  with  '*  the  tunes  used  iv  the  Calvinistic  churches  of 
France,  Switzerland,  Germany,  and  Holland,  first  introduced  them- 
selves into  t lie  Church  of  England.   See  Appendix,  Sect.  HI 


(     255     ) 

devising,  carries  on  the  very  face  of  it  its  own 
refutation.  For  it  is  a  matter  of  notoriety  to  all 
the  world,  that  the  Psalms  had  been  sung  in  the 
Hebrew  language  by  the  Jewish  Church  from  the 
year  1491  before  Christ,  the  year  of  the  Exodus 
out  of  Egypt,  and  by  the  same  church  in  the  same 
language,  during  every  period  of  its  prosperity  and 
its  adversity  down  to  the  present  times ; — and  also 
by  the  Christian  Church,  in  vernacular  prosaic 
translations,  during  a  period  of  fourteen  centuries, 
in  all  3900  years,  without  any  pretended  necessity 
or  expediency,  for  turning  them  into  the  mea- 
sures of  Heathen  song,  fov  the  purpose  of  singing 
them  to  times  of  a  similar  construction. 

If,  therefore,  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual 
songs*  of  God's  inditing,  without  the  mixtures 
of  human  imagination,  have  been  presented  to 
him  as  acts  of  vocal  praise  and  thanksgiving, 
ever  since  the  times  of  Moses,  who,  in  all  proba- 
bility derived  the  practice  from  his  progenitors  in 
the  holy  line  (for  aught  any  man  can  prove  to 
the  contrary)  even  up  to  Adam  :— why  not  con- 
tinue the  same  manner  of  celebrating  the  praises 


*  ^Yu.\y.ot,  Psalms.  The  Book  of  Psalms,  and  other 
psalmodic  scriptures,  together  with  such  texts  as  the  Easter 
substitute  for  Veiiite  Exultemus,  celebrated  with  voices  and 
instruments  unitedly. 

T,uvo;,  Hymns.  The  above  forms  of  praise,  celebrated  with 
voices  only. 

ilSiti  7rviuju*.rtH.!th  Spiritual  songs  or  odes,  such  as  Te  De- 
um,  or  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  whether  celebrated  With  voices 
und  instruments,  or  with  voices  on!v. 


(     2S6     ) 

of  Almighty  God,  from  generation  to  generation, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world? 

Seen  in  this  point  of  view,  the  latter  clause  of 
our  usual  Doxology  appears  with  increasing  im- 
port, and  extended  application. 

With  a  view  of  giving  permanency  to  metrical 
psalmody,  both  the  I^utherans  and  the  Calvinists 
edited  authorized  collections  of  metre  psalms  and 
hymns,  with  appropriate  metre  tunes;  but  within 
less  than  a  century  after  the  dates  of  those  pub- 
lications, new  versions  of  psalms,  and  new  tunes 
hogan  to  supersede  the  authorized  ones. 

To  secure  a  degree  of  permanency  to  Stern- 
hold  and  Hopkins's  version,  it  was  printed  in  1562 
with  the  tunes  to  which  it  had  been  professedly 
fitted,  and  tacked  for  the  first  time  to  the  Prayer 
Book.  But  neither  could  these  expedients,  nor 
others,  too  numerous  to  be  inserted  here,  endue 
it  with  any  portion  of  permanency;  for  Tate 
and  Brady's  version,  after  the  lapse  of  a  few 
years,  supplanted  it,  and  imitations,  set  in  score* 
quickly  became  rivals  of  the  very  tunes  to  which 
the  rhymes  of  Sternhold  and  Co.  had  been  pro- 
fessedly fitted. 

As  rivals  of  the  King's  chaplain  and  poet-lau- 
reat's  version,  one  by  Smart,  and  another  by  Mer- 
rick, a  few  years  afterwards,  presented  themselves 
as  candidates  for  the  palm  of  excellence  and  po- 
pular approbation.  The  votaries  of  the  former 
vvere  few— those  of  the  latter  many.    Smart's 


(     237      ) 

version,  I  believe,  never  found  its  way  into  any 
of  the  churches,  and  but  into  few  of  the  conven- 
ticles ;  whilst  Merrick's,  set  to  original  tunes  by 
some  of  the  most  eminent  composers,  under  the 
auspices  of  Dr.  Monkhouse,  master  of  Queen's 
College,  Oxford,  have  found  admission  into  many 
of  the  parish  churches,  and  some  of  the  cathe- 
drals and  colleges.  So  that,  at  the  present  time, 
three  sets  of  metre  psalms,  and  three  sets  of  metre 
tunes  are  used  in  the  English  churches,  as  con- 
gregational taste  directs  the  freedom  of  choice. 

During  the  time  that  our  Church  was  one  with 
that  of  England,  Sternhold  and  Hopkins's  psalms, 
with  the  tunes  used  in  churches,  were  the  allowed 
metre-psalmody,  until  both  were  gradually  su- 
perseded by  Tate  and  Brady's  psalms,  with  im- 
proved imitations  of  the  Geneva  tunes.  And 
those  tunes,  in  their  turn,  have  experienced  so 
frequent  and  great  vicissitudes,  either  from  alter- 
ations, or  from  substitutions,  that  but  few  vesti- 
ges of  them  are  now  extant.  Not  one  of  the 
Reformation  tunes  now  remains  in  any  of  our 
ehurches,  except  the  solitary  Old  Hundreth;* 
they  have  vanished  like  the  baceless  fabrie  of  a 


*  This  tune  is  commonly  thought  to  be  one  of  Luther's;  but  Huss 
had  applied  it  to  his  version  of  the  128th  Ps*lm,.  before  Luther  Ger- 
manized his  lOUth  Psalm  to  it.  The  fact  is>  it  neither  belongs  to  Lu- 
ther nor  Huss;  for  it  was  one  of  the  popish  chants  to  the  100th  Psalm 
of  the  Vulgate;  and  Dr.  Boyoe,  in  his  collection  of  Cathedral  music, 
has  retained  it  in  its  original  form.  This  chant  is  set  to  the  hymn 
for  Trinity  Sunday  in  the  Churchman's  Choral  Companion  to  his 
Prayer  Book. 

yo 


(     2B8     ) 

>ision,  and  Sternhold's  version  is  remembered 
only  for  the  sake  of  quoting  its  botchings  and  bar- 
barisms. 

The  composing,  editing,  and  teaching  of  metre 
music,  has,  in  this  country,  for  several  years, 
been  no  inconsiderable  article  of  traffic ;  almost 
all  the  teachers  have  been  both  the  composers 
and  publishers  of  text-books  for  their  scholars  j 
and,  with  a  few  exceptions,  the  great  body  of  the 
rhythmic  college  has  consisted  of  non-episcopal 
professors.  In  consequence  of  the  vast  number 
of  teachers  and  of  tunes,  a  person  who,  in  his 
younger  years  was  a  singer,  in  more  advanced 
life  is  obliged  to  become  a  hearer.  Every  suc- 
ceeding teacher  introduces  new  tunes,  and  every 
succeeding  minister  also  does  the  same,  to  the 
expulsion  of  others  less  favoured.  And  thus, 
metre  music  resembles  "  a  leaf  tossed  to  and  fro, 
and  shaken  with  the  wind"  of  private  or  public 
opinion.  Without  becoming  a  perpetual  scholar, 
no  person  is  able  to  keep  pace  with  the  strides  of 
the  giant  Innovation,  and  no  Christian  assembly 
can  ever  become  so  acquainted  with  metre  psalm- 
ody, as  to  unite  in  it  generally.  The  idea  of  one's 
becoming  a  perpetual  scholar,  for  the  sake  of 
learning  a  thing  that  so  much  resembles  the  pur- 
suit of  a  rainbow,  cannot  but  bring  to  our  re- 
membrance that  saying  of  the  Apostle,  «*  ever 
learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth." 


(     259     ) 

How  long  permanency  may  be  attached  to  the 
collection  of  metre  tunes  published  under  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  ecclesiastical  Convention  of  Maryland, 
or  to  the  selection  edited  under  the  auspices  of 
the  ecclesiasticl  Convention  of  New-York,  the  next 
generation  will  be  better  able  to  foresee  than  the 
present.  But,  if  their  fate  should  prove  to  be 
the  same  as  that  of  the  metrical  code  both  of 
the  Lutherans  and  of  the  Calvinists,  and  there 
is  no  reason  for  thinking  that  it  will  be  different, 
they  will  afford  an  additional  proof,  that  metre 
music  is  of  too  fugitive  a  nature  to  admit  of  per- 
manency, and  that  it  so  much  resembleth  the 
transient  condition  of  man,  that  one  set  of  tunes 
eometh  and  another  goeth,  and  "  never  continu- 
ed! in  one  stay." 

Dissatisfied  with  the  fluctuating  nature  of  mc^ 
trical  psalmody,  let  us  next  inquire,  whether 
prosaic  psalmody  has  any  better  claims  to  perma- 
nency. 

In  making  this  inquiry,  we  must  consult  the 
usage  of  the  Jewish,  the  church  of  our  elder 
brethren. 

If  we  apply  to  the  rabbies,  and  request  the 
sentiments  of  their  church  concerning  the  per- 
manency of  the  music  of  the  temple,  we  shall 
find  them  unitedly  asserting,  that  many  of  the 
chants  of  Solomon's  temple  are,  at  the  present 
time,  sung  in  their  synagogues,  and  that  all  their 


(     260     } 

music,  so  far  as  memorial  tradition*  can  be  de- 
pended on,  is  according  to  that  divine  original 

Whether  this  statement  be  literally  correct, 
no  man  living  can  positively  determine.  Any  how, 
we  may  safely  grant,  that  it  is  intentionally  cor- 
rect, for  we  know,  that  there  is  not  only  an 
identity  of  many  of  their  chants,  but  a  striking 
similarity  pervading  the  whole  of  them,  in  all 
the  synagogues  of  Europe  and  America.  And 
•  if  this  be  the  case,  as  it  undeniably  is  in  those 
countries,  we  may  warrantably  suppose  it  to  be 
the  same,  in  all  synagogues  throughout  the  world. 
These  facts  concur  in  affording  a  proof,  that  the 
Jewish  chants,  presently  used  in  their  syna- 
gogues, are  derived  from  one  common  origin; 
and  that  could  have  been  none  other  than  the 
musical  service  of  the  temple. 

Recollecting  that  the  ancient  Jews  were  the 
most  musical  people  that  ever  existed — that  their 
music  and  their  performers,  both  vocal  and  in- 
strumental, not  only  enjoyed  the  sanction  of  Is- 
rael's God,  but  were  held  in  so  great  estimation 
among  men,  that  they  procured  them  favour 
during  their  several  captivities — that  their  music 
and  sacred  songs  constituted  the  major  part  of 
their  national  worship — that  our  blessed  Lord 
himself  frequently  joined  in  the  psalmody  of  the 

*  It  does  not  appear  that  the  Jews  ever  had  any  musical  characters, 
unless  the  Masoretie  points  were  such. 


(     261     ) 

temple,  and  sanctioned  it  by  his  personal  pre- 
sence, and  particularly  at  the  time  of  his  institut- 
ing the  holy  Eucharist — that  the  twelve  Apos- 
tles, and  almost  all  the  first  promulgators  of 
Christianity,  were  Jews  by  birth  and  education, 
and  consequently  attached  to  their  national 
psalmody  ;  we  may  rest  assured  that  the  original 
melodies  of  the  Christian  Church  were  derived 
from  the  musical  code  of  the  temple-service. 

Destined  to  destruction,  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
had  not  the  honour  of  beholding  the  true  subjects 
of  its  King  invested  with  their  proper  character, 
'•  Christians/9  the  anointed  ones  of  Jehovah/ 
That  honour  devolved  upon  a  city  of  the  Gentiles, 
and  Antioch  became,  and  long  continued  to  be, 
the  central  point  of  all  communications  bearing 
the  Christian  seal  and  signature. 

St.  Augustine  informs  us,  that  St.  Ambrose 
brought  from  Antioch  the  manner  of  chanting 
the  psalms  and  hymns,  which  he  established  at 
Milan,  about  the  year  375,  and  which  was  after- 
wards  called  the  Ambrosian  chant.*  From  Mi- 
lan, these  chants  were  disseminated  all  over  Eu- 
rope, but  being  principally  retained  in  the  me- 
mory, on  account  of  there  being  no  regular  nota- 
tion then  extant,  when  Gregory  came  to  the  pon- 
tifical chair,  in  590,  they  were  so  greatly  de- 
based and  incorrect,  that  he  found  it  necessary 

*  August  Confess.  Lib.  IX.  c.  X 


(     262     ) 

to  collect  them,  and  then  to  correct  such  as  were 
erroneous,  and  to  supply  what  had  been  lost. 
These  chants  were  henceforth  called  the  Gregorian 
chants,  and  were  introduced  into  Britain  by  Au- 
gustine.* 

Besides  St.  Ambrose,  Augustine,  and  Gregory, 
who  left  clear  testimonies  of  their  approbation, 
and  even  of  their  cultivating  chanting  in  the  Ro- 
mish Church,  ecclesiastical  historians  are  unani- 
mous in  recording  the  sanction  that  was  given  to 
chanting  by  St.  Basil,  Chrysostom,  and  Cyprian, 
in  the  Greek  Church.  St.  John  Damascenus  is 
celebrated  by  the  writers  of  his  life,  and  by  ec- 
clesiastical historians,  as  being  the  compiler  and 
reformer  of  chants  in  the  Greek  Church  in  the 
eighth  century,  as  Gregory  had  been  in  the  Romish 
Church  in  the  sixth.f  And  so  tenacious  are  the 
Greeks  of  their  ancient  melodies,  that  the  nota- 
tion of  them  is  said  to  be  the  same  as  that  in 
which  they  were  set  by  Damascenus. 

The  ancient  notation  of  the  Choral  Books  of 
the  Russian  Church  was  continued  until  about 
the  year  1780,  when,  by  the  authority  of  the 
Empress  and  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops,  the 


*  Itedoe.  Keel.  Hist. 

t  Dc  Libris  Ecel.  Ur.rcorum. 

Specimens  of  the  ancient  notation  have  been  found  in  No.  1.  M.  S. 
Missal  of  the  9th  century  in  the  Ambvosian  library  at  Milan,  No, M 
if  the  ilth  ceotn'ry  in  the  British  Museum.  Dr.  Burneifs  History 
of  Mime,  vol.  ii.  p.  40. 

These  musical  characters  very  much  resemble  the  Masoretie 
points. 


(     263     ) 

•Id  choral  books  were  called  in,  and  new  ones 
edited  with  the  same  chants  set  according  to  the 
modern  notation. 

Before  Augustine's  arrival  (An.  596)  in  Britain, 
the  British  had  been  in  possession  of  the  Antio- 
chean  chants  from  the  time  of  their  conversion 
to  Christianity,  about  the  year  56,  by  St.  Paul 
and  Joseph  of  Arimathea.* 

From  the  arrival  of  Augustine  to  the  sera  of 
the  Reformation,  a  period  of  about  940  years, 
the  Gregorian  chants,  with  few,  or  no  other 
changes  than  such  as  would  unavoidably  arise 
from  the  manner  of  performance,  were  the  fixed 
and  canonical  music,  not  only  of  Britain,  but  of 
all  the  other  nations  of  Europe  in  communion 
with  the  See  of  Rome.  Accordingly,  we  find 
that,  during  the  early  times  of  the  church,  the 
middle  ages,  and  even  down  to  the  Reformation, 
such  a  similarity,  if  not  an  identity  of  sacred 
music  obtained  among  all  Christians  throughout 
the  known  world,  as  could  have  originated  from 
one  common  fountain  only.  Even  amidst  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  human  affairs  incident  to  a  lapse 
of  eighteen  centuries,  cathedral  music  still  re- 
tains unequivocal  marks  of  its  Jewish  origin,  as 
any  person  may  easily  perceive,  by  comparing 
the  chants  of  the  church  with  those  of  the  syna- 
gogue. 

*  Bishop  Still'msflcct's  Origines  S*cr.  passim , 


(     264     ) 

Of  musical  permanency  in  the  chant  form,  an 
evidence,  more  satisfactory  than  the  following, 
cannot  be  desired.  "  The  chant  to  the  Te  Deum. 
as  published  by  Meibomius,  from  a  copy  nearly  as 
vld  as  the  hymn  itself,  and  another  publication  of 
the  same  by  Glareanus,  in  1547,  correspond  ex- 
actly with  that  which  was  published  by  Marbeck, 
at  thc4ime^f  the  Reformation.* 

Henry  and  Cramner,  who  were  both  musicians 
of  taste  and  discrimination,  gave  all  the  encou- 
ragement in  their  power  to  cathedral  music,  and 
to  sanction  its  continuance ;  and  although  until, 
and  after  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  every  thing 
was  done  that  could  be  done  by  its  enemies,  to 
annihilate  it,  and  to  erect  metre  psalmody  on  its 
ruins ;  yet  during  her  reign,  cathedral  music 
was  no  where  more  successfully  cultivated,  and 
more  ably  defended,  than  in  England.  The  old 
chants  were  collected  and  revised,  and  composers 
of  correct  taste  and  primitive  principles  published 
such  works,  as  not  only  secured  the  interest  of 
its  friends,  but  conciliated  the  good  will  of  many 
of  its  enemies.  And  from  these  publications, 
Dr.  Boyce  formed  his  "  Collection  of  English 
Cathedral  Music,"  which  will  be  admired  so 
long  as  the  English  language  and  correct  taste 
shall  keep  each  other  company. 

Were  chanting  a  matter  of  mere  taste  or  opi- 

*  JBuraej's  History  *f  Mus:c,  vftl.  ii,  p.  585 


(     265     ) 

aion,  it  would  be  continually  subjected  to  the  iu- 
fluenee  of  those  caprices,  which  the  changeable 
humour  of  man  might  think  proper  to  exercise 
upon  it ;  but  as  each  chant  is  set  to  some  portion 
of  Holy  Scripture,  or  some  established  hymn 
of  the  offices  of  religion,  the  music  derives  from, 
its  immediate  superior  a  measure  of  its  own  im- 
mutability, and  also  a  portion  of  its  own  sanctity. 
There  being  an  unchangeable  alliance  fixed  be- 
tween the  appointed  psalms  and  hymns,  and  their 
appropriate  harmonies,  persons  of  tolerable  ears 
and  voices,  not  only  learn  with  case  to  sing  the 
songs  «f  Zion,  but  retain  them  in  their  memories 
without  distraction ;  the  children  grow  up  with 
the  practice  of  singing  them ;  and  thus,  the 
chants  along  with  the  words  may,  by  occasional 
rehearsals,  under  the  guidance  of  a  person  skil- 
ful in  the  art,  be  transmitted  from  one  generation 
to  another.* 

He  who,  without  prejudice,  listens  to  this 
most  excellent  and  venerable  way  of  "  setting 
forth  the  most  worthy  praise  of  Almighty  God,*' 
will  naturally  ask,  What  doth  hinder  me  from 
learning  thus  to  sing  the  songs  of  the  Almighty 
King?  And,  he  who  can  thus  sing  them,  and 
does  sing  them,  "  with  grace  in  his  heart,*'  will 
find  a  renewal  of  love,  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  every  time  that  he  is  engaged  in 
those  celestial  acclamations. 

*  In  this  way  the  Gregorian  chants  have  been  retained  to  the  pre- 
sent times  in  Italy,  Spain,  and  other  countries  of  Ejprope. 

z 


(     266     ) 

Amidst  the  ruins  of  cloud-cap'd  palaces,  the 
demolition  of  sacred  edifices,  and  the  revolutions 
of  empires; — amidst  the  discordant  jarrings  of 
civil  and  religious  contentions,  the  various  oppo- 
sitions to  primitive  truth  and  order;  and  in  defi- 
ance of  the  restless  and  insatiable  spirit  of  no- 
velty;— chanting,  as  "  an  ordinance  for  ever 
throughout  the  generations"  of  the  Jewish  Church, 
and  also  throughout  those  of  the  Christian,  hath 
jnaintained  its  existence,  its  venerahle  form,  and 
its  divine  eifeet. 

Chanting  hath  always  heen  the  legitimate  way 
of  "  setting  forth  God's  most  worthy  praise/5 
lipon  earth ;  and  to  chants  only  are  the  hymns  of 
angels  and  glorified  spirits  in  heaven  commensu- 
rate. Chanting,  like  the  sun,  «  shineth  more 
find  more,  unto  the  perfect  day,"  when  it  will 
lisher  in  the  never-ending  hallelujah,  "  Salvation 
to  our  God,  and  to  the  Lamb,  for  ever  and  ever." 
Amen. 

Now  to  the  King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible, 
the  only  wise  God,  be  honour  and  glory,  for  ever 
and  ever.     Amen. 


APPENDIX 


SECTION  I. 

The  Origin  and  Progress  of  Metrical  Hymnologif. 


i 


T  has  been  imagined  by  some  writers,  that 
worldly  prudence  had  at  first  dictated  the  expedi- 
ency of  introducing  metrical  hymns  into  the  of- 
fices of  Christianity,  in  order  to  conciliate  the 
good-will  of  idolaters,  who  had  been  always  ac- 
customed to  hear  no  other  kind  of  music  but 
what  consisted  of  prosodically  measured  feet. 
But  if  the  Christians  of  the  Roman  empire,  an- 
tecedent to  the  time  of  Prudentius,*  never 
thought  of  this  expedient,  when  they  stood  more 
in  need  of  softening  measures,  and  a  conformity 
to  some  apparently  innocent  externals  of  Pagan 
worship,  than  after  their  religion  had  received 
from  Constantine  the  sanction  of  imperial  laws ; 
the  introduction  of  metrical  hymnology  into  the 
worship  of  the  true  God  must  have  been  less 
awing  to  worldly  prudence   than  to  erroneous 

*  He  vas  born  in  6iS,  and  died  in  395.    Biog.  Diet. 


(     26S     ) 

principle.  It  is  likely  that,  as  many  influential 
Pagans  had  but  lately  conformed  to  the  church, 
some  of  them  still  retained  more  or  less  attach- 
ment to  their  former  hymnology  and  music  ;  and 
therefore,  it  is  very  supposable,  that  a  latent 
tendency,  to  have  hymns  introduced  into  Chris- 
tian worship  similar  to  those  of  polytheism,  had 
commenced  this  innovation. 

During  the  fourth  century,  the  church  Mas 
exceedingly  agitated  by  esery  species  of  heresy, 
ami  convulsed  by  schism  in  a  variety  of  forms; 
►—and  what  time  more  congenial  with  pride,  va- 
nity, ignorance,  and  the  remainders  of  paganism  I 
la  convulsive  times,  the  church  hath  had  fre- 
quent cause  to  lament,  that  the  inventions  of  men 
have  been  violently  obtruded  upon  the  worship 
of  God  in  his  temple.  In  the  end  of  this  cen- 
tury, the  Latin  verse  hymns  of  Prudentius  began 
to  ikid  admittance  into  the  Roman  Church;  and 
the  Greeks  soon  followed  the  example  of  the 
Liitiiis,  in  admitting  metrical  hymns  into  their 
churches.  From  Socrates,  the  historian,  (lib* 
YJ.  c.  S)  we  learn  that  the  heretics  used  to  sing 
r^tre  hymns,  marching  through  the  streets  of 
Constantinople,  in  procession ;  with  which  the 
vulgar  were  so  much  captivated,  that  the  ortho- 
dox, under  the  direction  of  St.  Chrysostom, 
thought  it  necessary  to  follow  the  example, 
vhieh  had  been  set  them  by  their  inveterate  ene- 
mies.   Processional  singing  had  been  long  prae- 


(     269     ) 

used  both  by  the  Jews  and  Pagans,  bin  no  men- 
tion is  made  of  it  among  Christians  before  this 
period. 

From  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  to  the 
present  time,  metre  hymnology  hath  been  culti- 
vated by  almost  every  denomination  of  Christians ; 
yet  the  Church  of  England  recognizes  no  metre 
hymns  except  those  in  two  of  her  offices ;  but  our 
Church  not  only  recognizes  those,  but  fifty  one 
besides,  which  she  allows  to  be  sung  in  public 
worship,  "  at  tlve  discretion  of  the  minister." 


SECTION  II. 

The  Origin  and  Progress  of  Metrical  Psalmody. 

Among  the  first  reformers,  who  interested 
themselves  about  the  manner  of  singing  the 
Psalms,  we  have  not  only  Wickliff,  Huss,  Je- 
rome of  Prague,  and  Zingle,  but  also  Luther, 
Cranmer,  Calvin,  Beza,  Buchanan,  and  John 
Knox ;  who,  though  each  of  them  had  different 
ideas  of  the  subject  of  sacred  music,  yet  all 
agreed  in  stripping  it  of  all  the  energy  and  em- 
bellishments of  measure  and  melody,  as  indeed 
the  Calvinists  did  likewise  of  harmony. 

It  is  said  to  have  been  the  opinion  of  Handel, 
that  Luther  was  the  author  of  metrical  psalmody  ; 
z  2  i 


(     270     ) 

but  this  is  far  from  being  the  case ;  for  J.  Httf  s»# 

in  the  beginning  of  the  15th  century,  WicklifF,f 
towards  the  end  of  the  14-th,  and  the  Albigenses 
in  1210,  were  all  metre  psalm  singers. 

Luther's  metre  psalms  and  spiritual  songs  were 
published  at  Wirtemburg  in  1524  and  1525;  and 
besides  the  numerous  metrical  hymns  and  psalms 
of  Luther  and  his  friends,  there  was  a  metre 
version  of  the  whole  Book  of  Psalms  published 
at  Augsburg  in  1525,  by  John  Boschenstein. 

The  bold  and  intrepid  reformer  Luther,  being 
himself  a  lover  and  judge  of  music,  was  so  far 
from  banishing  it  from  the  church,  that  he  rather 
multiplied  the  occasions  for  its  use.  Indeed,  Lu- 
ther must  have  had  an  insatiable  passion  for 
rhyme  and  music;  as  besides  turning  most  of  the 
ancient  ecclesiastical  hymns,  the  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  many  other  parts  of  his  Liturgy, 
into  German  verse,  in  order  to  be  sung ;  he  wrote 
his  Catechism  in  rhyme,  which  was  set  to  music 
In  four  parts  by  Henry  of  Gottingen ;  and  even 
♦  he  Confession  of  Augsburg  he  turned  into  verse, 
and  had  it  likewise  set  to  music* 

In  Luther's  Epistle  to  Senplius  of  Zurich, 
the  musician  and  scholar  of  Henry  Isaac,  Luther 
places  music  above  all  arts  and  sciences,  except 
theology;  a3  that  and  religion  are  alone  able  to 
>ooth  and  calm  the  mind.     In  the  same  epistle 

*  Kuss  was  birnt  at  Constance  in  1415. 

•  Yn<-k!!!TfKe  \  ;;l  Lathenror'.h  in  13U 


(   sri   ) 

he  says,  «  We  know  that  music  is  intolerable 
to  demons ;M  and  therefore  thus  concludes;  "  I 
verily  think,  and  am  not  ashamed  to  say,  that 
next  to  theology,  no  art  is  comparable  to  music."* 

It  does  not  appear  in  the  life  or  letters  of  Lu- 
ther and  Calvin,  that  those  reformers  had  ever 
conferred  or  corresponded  with  one  another ;  and 
yet  it  hath  been  said,  that  it  was  by  the  advice  of 
Luther  that  Calvin  established  his  Psalmody; 
with  which,  both  Germany  and  France  was  soon 
overrun.  Germany  was  certainly  furnished  with 
innumerable  psalmodists  and  hymnologists  long 
before  Calvin,  who  was  born  in  1509,  became  the 
head  of  a  sect.  Calvin  was  in  his  36th  year  when 
Luther  died  in  1546* 

It  appears  that  the  ancient  ecclesiastical  tones 
regulated  the  music  of  the  Lutheran  Church  at 
the  time  of  the  reformation ;  for  most  of  the  old 
melodies  to  the  evangelical  hymns  are  composed 
in  one  or  other  of  them.  The  Cantamen  or  an- 
thems and  services  used  in  this  reformed  church 
in  the  German  language,  are,  however,  as  elabo- 
rate and  florid,  as  the  metres  set  to  Latin  words 
used  in  Italy,  during  the  celebration  of  the  mass. 

The  hymn  book  of  (he  Picards  and  Bohemian 
brethren,  printed  with  musical  notes  at  Ulm,  ia 
1568,  shows  that  the  melodies  used  by  those  sects 

*  "  Scimusmusicamd:eraoniJ>usetiamiiivisam  et  intolerabilem  esse; 
— Plane  judico,  nee  pudet  asscrere  post  Theolo^iam  esse  nullam 
artem,  <|use  possit  musics  jequari." 

Lnthc's  Ep.  ad Senpl.  Znr, 


originated  from  the  chants,  to  which  the  ancient 
Latin  hymns  of  the  Romish  Church  were  sung. 
For  in  this  book  there  are  translations  and  imi- 
tations in  German  metre,  of  most  of  the  hymns 
and  proses  still  used  in  the  Romish  Church ;  such 
as  the  Stabat  Mater  dolorosa  ;  the  Te  Deum  lau- 
damus;  0  Lux  beata  Trinitatis;  Pange  lingua 
gloriosi,  &c. 

About  the  year  1540  Clement  Marot,  a  French 
poet,  versified  and  dedicated  to  Francis  I.  thirty 
of  David's  Psalms,  which  were  sung,  in  defiance 
of  the  censures  of  the  Sorbonne,  by  the  King 
and  Queen,  and  by  the  principal  personages  of  the 
kingdom,  to  the  favourite  airs  of  the  times. 

Having  fled  to  Geneva,  to  avoid  persecution, 
Marot  versified  other  twenty  of  the  psalms. 
These,  with  the  thirty  formerly  published  at  Paris, 
were  printed  at  Geneva  in  1543,  without  music, 
but  with  a  preface  written  by  Calvin.  Marot  dy- 
ing the  next  year,  Beza  versified  the  rest  of  the 
psalms  in  the  same  manner;  and  the  whole  book 
of  psalms,  in  French  rhyme,  was  published  at 
Strasburg  in  1545.  These  psalms  were  instantly 
in  so  great  demand,  that  they  could  not  be  printed 
fast  enough,  and  were  sung  to  common  song-tunes, 
by  the  Lutherans  and  Calvinists  from  a  principle 
of  piety,  and  by  the  Romanists  in  frolic  and  bur- 
lesque.* 

*  Ftorirccod  de  Rem.  de  Is  Naissanee  et  Pr ogres,  de  PHeresi? 


(  ff  ) 

As  yet,  these  psalms  had  not  found  admission 
into  any  of  the  conventicles,  and  therefore  were 
not  taken  notice  of  publicly  by  the  Romish  Church ; 
but  in  the  year  1553,  when  they  appeared  in  the 
same  book  with  the  catechism  of  Calvin,  and  the 
Genevan  Liturgy,  the  Romanists  took  the  alarm, 
and  prohibited  the  farther  public  use  of  them. 
After  the  promulgation  of  this  prohibition,  a 
metre  psalmodist  became  another  name  for  Re- 
former, Hugonot,  and  Calviuist.  And  the  pur- 
poses to  which  this  lamentable  musie  was  often 
applied,  during  the  struggles  and  growth  of  Cal- 
vinism, seem  to  have  been  worse  than  the  music 
itself;  as,  according  to  writers  of  the  opposite 
party,  it  was  made  the  signal  of  tumult,  sedition, 
sacrilege  and  rebellion.* 

Of  the  music  to  which  Marot  and  Beza's  French 
rhyme  psalms  were  sung  in  the  Calviuistic  chur- 
ches, we  have  the  following  account  iw  Dnylc's 
Dictionary,  under  the  word  Marot: — "  A  profes- 
sor in  the  university  of  Lausanne  has  informed 
me,  that  a  certitieate,  under  Beza's  own  hand,  in 
the  name  of  the  ecclesiastical  society,  siill  sub- 
sists, dated  1552,  declaring  that  Guillaume  Franc 
first  set  music  to  the  translation  of  the  psalms,  as 
they  are  sung  in  churches." 

The  same  person  is  likewise  acknowledged  to 
be  the  author  of  that  music,  in  a  Geneva  edition 

•  Maimburg's  Hist,  de  Cahinism,  Iiv.  ii.  p.  9§. 


(     *™     ) 

of  1564.  After  this  composer  of  music  for  Marot 
and  Beza's  psalms,  a  variety  of  composers  have 
succeeded  one  another  to  the  present  time,  so  that 
the  tunes  are  innumerable,  and  of  all  sorts  of 
merit  and  demerit. 

Having  thus  traced  metre  psalmody,  from  its 
minute  beginning  in  Germany,  France,  and  Swit- 
zerland, it  is  next  in  order  to  relate  its  arrival 
and  progress  in  England. 

During  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  several  of  the 
Psalms  of  David  were  turned  into  English  rhyme, 
hy  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt,  and  published  in  1549. 
Indeed,  almost  all  the  English  poets,  good,  bad, 
and  indifferent,  during  that  and  the  subsequent 
reign,  attempted  to  versify  more  or  less  of  that 
divine  book.# 

All  the  performances  of  those  gentlemen  have 
long  been  buried  in  oblivion ;  and  the  most  ancient 
display  of  poetical  talent  in  turning  (he  Psalms  of 
David  into  English  rhyme,  records  the  labours 
of  a  fraternity,  whose  names  are,  Sternhold, 
Hopkins,  Cox,  Whittingham,  Norton,  and  Wis- 
dome.f 


*  See  a  long  list  of  the  English  versifiera,  whom  Pope  has  ho* 
loourecl  with  nitchesin  his  Duuciad. 

f  Bishop  (Jorbett's  Epigram,  addressed  to  the  ghost  of  Robert 
Wisdome.    { W.  ^as  buried  at  Ccrfax  Church,  Oxford.) 
Thou  once  a  body,  now  but  ay  re, 
.Arclfebotcher  of  a  p&idm  or  prayer, 

From  Cor  fax  come 
And  patch  us  up  a  zealous  lay, 
With  an  old  ever  and  for  ay9 
Or  all  and  sow?, 


(     2^     ) 

Sternhold,  who  was  groom  of  the  robes  to 
Henry  VIII.  and  afterwards  of  the  bed-chamber 
to  Edward  VI.  versified  only  51  of  the  psalms; 
Hopkins,  who  was  a  clergyman  and  schoolmas- 
ter in  Suffolk,  versified  58;  and  the  rest  of  the 
company,  each  according  to  the  initials  of  his 
name  set  over  his  particular  versification.  These 
metre  psalms  were  at  first  published  in  detached 
numbers,  and  sung  to  common  song-airs.  An 
entire  collection  of  them  was  not  published  until 
1562,  when  it  was  tacked,  for  the  first  time,  to 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  under  the  follow- 
ing title ;  "  The  whole  Book  of  Psalms,  collected 
into  English  metre,  byT.  Sternhold,  J.  Hopkins, 
and  others,  conferred  with  the  Ebrue ;  with  apt 
notes  to  sing  them  withal.  Imprinted  by  John 
Bay." 

In  this  edition  there  was  no  bass,  nor  upper 
parts,  only  the  tunes,  and  these,  as  appears  by 
collation,  the  same  as  those  of  Guillaume  Franc, 
Gaudimel,  and  Claude  Le  Jeune,  in  the  Psalm 
Books  of  the  Calvinists. 

These  are  the  apt  notes* — the  tunes  used  in 
Churches,  to  which  the  psalms  of  Sternhold  and 

Or  such  a  spirit  lend  me, 

As  may  a  h\  mn  down  send  me, 

To  purge  my  brain. 
But,  Robert,  look  behind  thee, 
Lest  Turk  or  Pope  should  find  thee, 
And  go  to  bed  again. 

Poems,  London,  1647,  p.  4f . 
These  apt  notes  were  first  imported  from  Geneva  into  Lnglas^l 
1 3  _Horton,  one  of  the  rhyming  fraternity. 


C     276     ) 

Co.  were  professedly  fitted ;  and  to  which,  as  a 
prototype  for  future  imitations,  the  psalms  of 
Brady  and  Co.  were  professedly  fitted  also. 


SECTION  III. 

The  Authorities  on  which  Metre  Psalmody  stands, 
exhibited  in  a  retrograde  View. 

The  General  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
eopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
holden  in  Philadelphia,  thus  allowed  the  use  of 
the  Psalms  of  David  in  metre. 

"  By  the  Bishops,  the  Clergy,  and  the  Laity, 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Unit- 
ed States  of  America,  in  Convention,  this  13th 
day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1789. 

"  This  translation  of  the  whole  Book  of  Psalms 
into  metre,  with  Hymns,  is  set  forth,  and  allowed 
to  be  sung  in  all  Congregations  of  the  said  Church, 
before  and  after  morning  and  evening  prayer,  and 
also  before  and  after  sermons,  at  the  discretion 
of  the  minister." 

This  allowance,  for  the  use  of  metre  psalms,  is 
predicated  upon  a  recommendation  of  the  Bishop 
of  London,  dated  May  23. 1698.  in  these  words :— h 

u.  His  Majesty  having  allowed  ard  permitted 
the  use  of  a  new  version  of  the  Psalms  of  David, 
by  Br.  Brady  and  Mr.   Tate,  in  all  churches* 


(    W    ) 

chapels,  and  congregations;  I  cannot  do  less 
than  wish  a  good  success  to  this  royal  indulgence : 
for  I  find  it  a  work  done  with  so  much  judgment 
and  ingenuity,  that  I  am  persuaded  it  may  take 
oft'  that  unhappy  objection  which  hath  hitherto 
lain  against  the  singing  psalms,  and  dispose  that 
part  of  divine  service  to  much  more  devotion. 
And  I  do  heartily  recommend  the  use  of  this  ver- 
sion to  all  my  brethren  within  my  diocess. 

"  H.  London." 

This  recommendation  stands  upon  an  act  of  the 
King  and  Council,  expressed  thus: — 

"  At  the  Court  at  Kensington,  Dec.  the  3d, 
1696,  present  the  King's  most  excellent  majesty 
in  Council. 

"  Upon  the  humble  petitions  of  N.  Brady  and 
N.  Tate,  this  day  read  at  the  board,  setting  forth 
that  the  petitioners  have,  witli  their  utmost  care 
and  industry,  completed  a  new  Version  of  the 
Psalms  of  David,  in  English  metre,  jilted  for 
public  use;  and  humbly  praying  his  Majesty's 
Royal  allowance,  that  the  Version  may  be  used 
in  such  congregations  as  think  fit  to  receive  it : 

"  His  Majesty,  taking  the  same  into  his  Royal 
consideration,  is  pleased  to  order  in  council,  that 
the  said  new  Version  of  the  Psalms  in  English  metre 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  allowed  and  permitted 
to  be  used  in  all  churches,  chapels,  and  con- 
gregations, as  shall  think  tit  to  receive  the  same. 

"  W.  Bridgman." 
2  A 


C     278     ) 

And  tliis  allowance  and  permission  is  predicated 
upon  a  Proviso,  in  the  act  of  uniformity  for  the 
use  of  the  Common  Prayer  Book,  1548,  in  these 
words : — 

"  Provided  also,  that  it  he  lawful  for  all  men, 
as  well  in  churches,  chapels,  oratories,  or 
other  places,  to  use  openly  any  psalm  or  prayer 
taken  out  of  the  Bihle,  at  any  due  time ;  not 
letting  or  omitting  thereby  the  service,  or  any 
part  thereof  mentioned  in  the  said  book. 

*  And  hence  it  is,  that  the  title-page  of  Stern - 
hold  and  Hopkins'  book  of  metre  psalms  and 
hymns  has  these  words ;  4i  set  forth  and  allowed 
10  be  sung  in  all  churches  of  the  people  together, 
before  and  after  morning  and  evening  prayer, 
and  also  before  and  after  sermons ;  and  more- 
over in  private  houses,  for  their  godiy  solace  and 
comfort."* 

These  rhymes  were  at  first  "  only  allowed  in 
private  devotion,"  says  Dr.  Heylin,  **  but  by  lit- 
tle and  little  they  were  brought  into  the  Church ; 
permitted  rather  than  allowed  to  be  sung  before 
and  after  sermons ;  afterwards  printed  and  bound 
up  with  the  Common  Prayer  Book ;  and  at  last 
added  by  the  stationers  at  the  end  of  the  Bible. 
For  though  it  is  expressed  in  the  title-page  of 
these  singing  psalms,  that  they  were  set  forth  and 
allowed  to  be  sung  in  all  churches,  before  and  af- 

*  Stcvpc-'s  Memorials,  voJ.  B.  n.  86. 


(     279     ) 

ier  morning  and  evening  prayer,  and  also  before 
and  after  sermons;  yet  this  allowance  seems 
rather  to  have  been  a  connivance,  than  an  appro- 
bation: no  such  allowance  being  any  where  found 
by  such  as  have  been  most  industrious  and  con- 
cerned in  the  search."* 

Thus,  it  appears  from  historical  testimony, 
that  the  whole  superstructure  of  English  metre 
psalmody  rests  upon  a  Proviso  as  its  grand  corner 
atone  5— a  Proviso  so  interpreted  as  to  be  nothing 
else  than  a  puritanic  pious  fraud. 


SECTION  IV. 

The  Rivalship  hetween  Metre-Psalmody  and 
Cathedral  Music. 

Henry  VIII.  who  began,  and  his  children  who 
completed  the  reformation  of  religion  in  England, 
being  all  musicians,  and  consequently  able  to  dis- 
tinguish harmony  and  melody  from  noise  and  jar- 
gon, took  care  to  support  the  dignity  of  music  in 
the  service  of  the  cathedrals;  which  has  not 
been  the  ease  with  the  founders  of  other  Protest- 
ant churches.  Yet  notwithstanding  the  King's 
superior  judgment  in  music,  and  its  adaptation  to 

•  Heylin's  History  of  the  Reformation,  p.  127. 
Ou<zre.  Was  metre  psalmody  from  heaven,  or  of  men: 


(     SSO     ) 

the  service  of  the  sanctuary,  the  puritanic  re- 
formers, according  to  «  The  seventy-eight  faults 
and  abuses  of  religion,*'  in  the  Protestation  of 
the  clergy  of  the  lower  house  wkhin  the  pro- 
vince of  Canterbury,  presented  to  the  King  in 
1536,  declared,  that,  "  Synging  and  saying  of 
mass,  mattins,  or  even  song,  is  but  roaring, 
howling,  whistling,  mummying,  conjuring,  and 
jogeling;  and  the  playing  upon  organs  a  foolish 
vstnitie."* 

In  1B39  a  book  of  ceremonies  was  published, 
in  which  is  the  following  passage  favourable  to 
choral  music.  (Section,  Service  of  the  Church.) 
••  The  sober,  discreet,  and  devout  singing,  music, 
and  playing  with  organs,  used  in  the  Church  in 
the  service  of  God,  are  ordained  to  move  and 
stk  the  people  to  the  sweetness  of  God's  word, 
the  which  is  there  sung ;  and  by  that  sweet  har- 
mony, both  to  excite  them  to  prayer  and  devotion, 
and  also  to  put  them  in  remembrance  of  the 
heavenly  triumphant  church,  where  is  everlasting 
joy,  continual  laud,  and  praise  to  God.'*f 

In  the  Litany  of  Henry's  Prayer  Book,  pub- 
lished in  15i6,  the  supplications  are  printed  with 
black  ink,  and  the  responses  with  red*  Before 
the  Litany  there  is  this  rubric; — «  And  it  is  to 
be  remembered,  that  that  which  is  printed  in 
black  letters  is  to  be  said  or  sung  of  the  Priest 

*  Strype'a  EeeL  Mem.  Appendix  to  vol.  i.  p.  178. 
■j  Strvpe's  L^l  Mem.  Appendix  ».o  vol  L  p.  2M, 


(     *Si     ) 

with  an  audible  voyce,  (that  is  to  say)  so  loude 
and  so  plainlie,  that  it  may  be  well  understande 
of  the  hearers.  And  that  which  is  in  the  red, 
is  to  be  answered  of  the  quier,  soberly  and  de- 
voutly." 

In  1547,  the  Compline,  a  sort  of  final  chorus 
at  evening  prayer,  was  sung  in  English,  in  the 
King's  chapel,  before  any  act  of  Parliament  had 
enjoined  it. 

In  1548,  the  English  Liturgy,  or  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer,  was  published  and  ordered  to  be 
used ;  but  books  could  not  be  furnished  for  the 
whole  kingdom  in  one  year,  and  therefore  the 
order  could  not  be  obeyed  until  Whitsunday  of 
1549,  when  it  was  used  for  the  first  time  in  St. 
Paul's,  London. 

In  1549,  all  images  were  taken  down  and  de- 
stroyed. All  antiphonaries,  missals,  brevia- 
ries, offices,  horaries,  primers,  and  proces- 
sionals, were  called  in  and  destroyed.  Calvin, 
Martyr,  Bucer,  and  the  Zwinglians,  bred  schisms 
among  the  Reformers,  and  augmented  the  num- 
ber of  puritans  and  fanaticks  throughout  the 
English  nation.* 

In  1550,  Archbishop  Cranmer  first  adjusted 
the  Litany  in  the  English  language  to  a  chant. 
Concerning  the  words  and  music  thus  arranged, 
he  wrote  to  the  King  thus:   "  I  trust  it  will 


Hevlin's  EcoL  Hist-  p.  $5,    >0 
2.12 


(     388     ) 

excite  and  stir  up  the  hearts  of  all  men  to  devo- 
tion and  godliness."*  And  soon  after  this,  in 
the  same  year,  under  the  sanction  of  the  King 
and  the  Archbishop,  John  Marbeek,  organist 
of  Windsor,  published  a  notation  of  the  cathe- 
dral service  in  the  English  language,  which  be- 
fore had  been  in  Latin,  ever  since  the  time  of 
Augustine,  a  period  of  9i0  years.  The  title  of 
this  musical  prayer  book  is — «  The  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  noted." 

No  other  music  for  the  cathedral  service  was 
printed  during  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  but  that 
of  Marbeck,  which  was  simple  Canto  fermo, 
without  counterpoint. 

The  fears  of  those  who  wished  well  to  the  Eng- 
lish cathedral  service  were  somewhat  abated,  on 
finding  that  the  "  thirty-two  commissioners," 
under  Edward  VI.  in  their  «*  reasonable  com- 
plaints against  the  abuse  of  music,"  had  confined 
their  censures  to  that  species  of  singing  which 
was  productive  of  confusion,  and  rendered 
unintelligible  those  parts  of  the  service  which 
required  the  greatest  reverence  and  attention. 
And  in  the  forty-one  articles  prepared  in  1551, 
not  a  word  is  said  concerning  cathedral  chanting, 
musical  services,  or  parochial  psalmody. 

That  there  were  just  grounds  for  complaints 
against  the  abuse  of  music,  will  readily  be  grant* 

•  CuHier's  EccL  list  to).  ii  p.  21  & 


(     *8&     ) 

ed,  when"  Dr.  Tye,  the  first  of  ecclesiastical  com^ 
posers  in  Edward's  reign,  in  imitation  of  Stern- 
hold  and  Hopkins*  psalms,  turned  the  first  four- 
teen chapters  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  into 
English  rhyme ;  an  absurd  undertaking,  and 
which  was  rendered  still  more  ridiculous,  by  the 
elaborate  music  to  which  he  set  these  rhymes* 
consisting  of  fugues  and  canons  of  the  most  ar- 
tificial and  complicated  kind. 

In  1553,  Mary  ascended  the  throne.  During 
her  short  reign,  ecclesiastical  music  was  again 
transferred  to  Latin  words,  which  seems  to  have 
been  the  principal  change  that  the  revival  of  the 
Romish  rites  and  ceremonies  occasioned  in  cho^ 
ral  singing;  as  metrical  psalmody  had  not  yet 
been  generally  received  into  parochial  churches. 

In  October,  155i,  the  laws  of  Edward  concern- 
ing religion  were  all  repealed;  and  in  November, 
Bishop  Bonner  set  up  the  old  worship  at  St.  Paul's 
on  St.  Catharine's  day.*  During  the  subsequent 
years  of  Mary's  reign,  the  public  service  was 
every  where  performed  in  the  Roman  manner 
throughout  the  kingdom. 

In  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary,  all  the  Protestants, 
except  those  who  courted  martyrdom,  sung 
Stcrnhold and  Hopkins'  psalms  CsottovoceJ  with 
a  low  tone  of  voice ;  but  after  the  accession  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  like  orgies,  they  were  roared 

*  Fuller's  Ecclesiastical  History,  cent.  17.  B.  8. 


(     284     ) 

aloud  in  almost  every  street,  as  well  as  church, 
throughout  the  realm ;  and  "  as  the  puritan  fac- 
tion increased  in  strength  and  confidence,  these 
metre  psalms  prevailed  in  most  places,  so  as  to 
thrust  the  Te  Deum,  the  Benedictus,  the  Mag- 
nificat,  and  the  Nunc  dimittis,  quite  out  of  the 
church."* 

In  Scotland,  psalmody  was  practised  by  the  re- 
formers very  early  in  the  Reformation,  but  al- 
ways in  prosaic  forms,  until  about  the  year  1555, 
when  it  appears  that  Elizabeth  Adam  son,  a  fol- 
lower of  John  Knox,  died  singing  rhyme  psalms ! 
— And  at  the  time  of  an  insurrection,  it  is  said 
of  the  insurgents,  that  after  insulting  the  Bishops 
and  the  Queen  Regent,  "  search  was  made  for 
the  doers,  but  none  could  be  deprehended ;  for 
the  brethren  assembled  themselves  in  such  sort, 
in  companies,  singing  psalms,  and  praising  God, 
that  the  proudest  of  their  enemies  were  asto- 
nished."! 

Elizabeth  began  her  reign  on  the  17th  Nov. 
4558$  her  coronation  was  celebrated  in  the  Ro- 
man manner;  and  according  to  Camden4  the 
Romish  religion  was  continued  about  six  or  seven 
weeks  after  the  death  of  Mary,  in  the  same  state 
as  before. 

On  the  28th  April,  1559,  Elizabeth  gave  the 

*  Heylin's  History  of  the  Reformation,  p.  127. 

7  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  p.  99. 

i  Fuller's  Ecclesiastical  History,  vol.  ilp.  51; 


(     2S3     ) 

royal  assent  to  the  bill  for  the  uniformity  of 
Common  Prayer,  or  English  Liturgy,  which 
was  to  take  effect  on  the  12th  May :  but  so  eager 
was  her  Majesty  to  hear  the  reformed  service, 
that  she  anticipated  its  restoration,  by  having  it 
performed  in  her  own  chapel  on  Sunday,  May  2d, 
four  days  after  the  act  had  passed.* 

This  Liturgy  was  printed  the  same  year  by 
Grafton,  with  the  following  title;  "  The  Book 
of  Common  Prayer,  and  Administration  of  the 
Sacraments,  and  other  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of 
the  Church  of  England/'  And  the  license  con- 
tained in  the  rubrics,  allowing  it  to  be  "  said  or 
sang,"  and  ordaining  that  in  choirs  and  places 
where  they  sing,  the  anthem  shall  follow  certain 
parts  of  the  service,  is  a  plain  indication  that  the 
cathedral  service'  was  then  authorized,  and  the 
parochial  tolerated. 

In  the  same  year,  Elizabeth  published  injunc- 
tions for  the  Clergy;  the  49th  of  which  is  con- 
cerning choral  music.  According  to  this  injunc- 
tion, says  Ile^lin,  "  as  plain  song  was  retained 
in  most  parish  churches  for  the  daily  psalms,  so 
in  her  own  chapels,  and  in  the  choirs  of  all  ca- 
thedrals, and  some  colleges,  the  hymns  were 
swig  in  a  more  melodious  manner,  with  organs 
commonly,  and  sometimes  with  other  musical 
instruments,  as  the   solemnity  required.     Here 

^-Stv/pe's  Eeetesastka!  A&osfej  vol  L  y  1.91. 


(     286     ) 

no  mention  is  made  (adds  this  writer)  of  singing 
psalms  in  metre,  though  afterwards  they  first 
thrust  out  the  hymns  which  are  herein  mentioned, 
and  by  degrees  do  they  also  the  Te  Deum,  the 
Magnificat,  and  the  Nunc  dimittis."* 

By  the  moderation,  liberality,  and  intelligence 
of  this  injunction,  choral  music  was  saved  from 
litter  extirpation  in  England  ;  for  the  outcry  and 
violence  of  the  Puritans  against  playing  upon  or- 
gans, curious  singing,  and  tossing  about  the 
psalms  from  side  to  side  (meaning  antiphonal  or 
responsive  singing),  were  at  this  time  so  great, 
that  they  could  only  be  restrained  by  an  exertion 
of  all  the  powers  and  firmness  of  this  princess. 

In  the  year  after  the  publication  of  the  English- 
Liturgy,  a  choral  work  appeared  with  this  title  ; 
"  Certain  Notes  set  forth  in  three  and  four  parts, 
to  be  sung  at  the  Morning  Communion  and  Even- 
ing Praier,  very  necessary  for  the  Church  of 
Christe,  to  be  frequented  and  used:  and  unto 
them  be  added  divers  godly  Praiers  and  Psalms 
in  the  like  form,  to  the  honour  and  praise  of  God. 
Imprinted  at  London,  over  Aldersgate,  beneath 
St.  Martin's,  by  John  Day,  ±560." 

Notwithstanding  the  attention  that  was  paid 
to  choral  music  by  her  Majesty,  and  the  Deans 
of  cathedrals  throughout  the  kingdom,  it  was  in 
frequent  danger  of  utter  abolition,  by  the  fury 

*  Bishop  Sparrow's  Col,  of  Inju^.— EecL  Hist  p.  289. 


(     287     ) 

with  which  some  of  the  reformers,  actuated  by 
a  spirit  of  change  and  extirpation  rather  than 
of  reformation,  attacked  every  thing  that  was 
right,  wrong,  or  even  indifferent,  in  the  ancient 
service  of  the  Church.  One  of  Bishop  Latimer's 
injunctions  to  the  prior  and  convent  of  St.  Mary- 
house,  in  Worcester,  so  early  as  the  year  1537, 
when  Bishop  of  that  diocess,  runs  thus;  "  Item, 
Whenever  there  shall  be  any  preaching  in  your 
monastry,  that  all  manner  of  singing,  and  other 
ceremonies,  he  entirely  abolished."* 

Among  the  proposals  prepared  by  the  Puritans 
for  further  reformation,  in  1562,  there  is  the  fol- 
lowing— "  That  the  psalms  may  be  sung  dis- 
tinctly by  the  whole  congregation,  and  that  or- 
gans may  be  laid  aside.,,f  And  Bishop  Burnet 
says,  "  that  organs  and  curious  singing  were 
near  being  banished  the  church ;  their  continu- 
ance being  carried  by  only  one  vote,  and  that 
given  by  the  proxy  of  an  absent  member."^: 

In  1565,  the  ecclesiastical  composers,  encou- 
raged, probably,  by  the  reception  of  the  former 
publication,  and  the  favour  of  the  Queen,  printed 
another  collection  of  offices,  with  musical  notes, 
under  the  following  title ;  «  Morning  and  Even- 
ing Prayer  and  Communion,  set  forth  in  four 
parts,  to  be  sung  in  churches,  both  for  men  and 

*  Burnet's  History  of  the  Reformation,  P.  II.  Col.  No.  23. 

f  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  [».  180. 

$  Burnet's  History  of  the  Reformation,  P.  Ul.  p.  105. 


(     283     ) 

children,  with  dyvers  other  godly  prayers  and 
anthems,  of  sundry  men's  doyings." 

This  publication,  with  the  former,  by  John 
Day,  in  1560,  fixed  for  nearly  a  century  the  style 
of  English  choral  music.  In  both  these,  says 
Dr.  Barney,  "  the  movement  was  grave,  the  har- 
mony grateful,  and  the  contrivance  frequently 
ingenious." 

In  i570,  Cartwright,  one  of  the  most  vio- 
lent and  intolerant  of  the  reformers,  attacked 
cathedral  music;  and  afterwards  Field  and  Wil- 
cox, two  puritan  ministers,  with  Brown,  the 
founder  of  the  Brownists,  vended  and  uttered 
from  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  every  objection 
and  defamation  they  could  invent  against  this 
venerable  usage.  But  Hooker,  then  master  of 
the  Temple,  undertook  its  defence,  which  may 
lie  seen  in  the  5th  book  of  his  Ecclesiastical  Po- 
lity, sections  38  and  39. 

In  1571,  in  the  confession  of  the  Puritans, 
they  say ;  "  Concerning  singing  of  Psalms,  we 
allow  the  people's  joining  with  one  roice,  in  a 
plain  tune,  but  not  of  tossing  the  psalms  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  with  intermingling  of  or* 
gans."* 

And  in  15S6,  when  the  Puritans  were  framing 
innumerable  bills  for  further  reformation  in  the 
Church,  a  pamphlet  was  dispersed  in  spite  of  all 

*  Neal's  History  of  t'ae  Puritans,   p.  290. 


(     289     ) 

the  restrictions  at  that  time  laid  on  the  press,  en- 
titled, "  A  request  of  all  true  Christians  to  the 
House  of  Parliament f*  which,  among  other 
things,  prays,  "  That  all  Cathedral  Churches 
may  be  put  down,  where  the  service  of  God  is 
grievously  abused  by  piping  with  organs,  singing, 
ringing,  and  trowling  of  psalms  from  one  side 
of  the  choir  to  another,  with  the  squeaking  of 
chanting  choristers,  disguised  (as  are  all  the  rest) 
in  white  surplices ;  some  in  corner  caps,  and  silly 
copes,  imitating  the  fashion  and  manner  of  An- 
tichrist the  Pope,  that  man  of  sin  and  child  of 
perdition,  with  his  other  rabble  of  miscreants 
and  shavelings."* 

So  enthusiastically  were  the  Puritans  attached 
to  rhyme  psalmody,  that  during  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  they  devoted  cathedral  music  to  de- 
struction, and  strove  with  great  zeal  to  have  no- 
thing sung  in  churches,  but  in  the  syllabic  man- 
ner;— pretending  that  no  music  was  suitable  to 
a  whole  congregation,  but  what  was  sung  sylla- 
foically.  And  innumerable  field -preachers,  and 
street-preachers  persuaded  the  undistinguishing 
multitude,  that  syllabic  singing  was  the  only 
kind  of  praise  which  God  would  take  delight  in 
hearing. 

In  England,  for  more  than  a  century  after  the 
commencement  of  the  reformation,  the  spirit  of 

*  Neat's  History  of.  the  Purit^no,  p=  480 


(     290     ) 

change  being  fomented  by  an  intercourse  with  the 
Calvinists  in  France,  Geneva,  Holland,  Frank- 
fort, and  Scotland,  not  only  prevented  the  rest- 
less and  turbulent  part  of  the  nation  from  being 
satisfied  with  an  emancipation  from  the  gripe  of 
Popery ; — but  numberless  riots  and  outrages  seem 
to  have  derived  a  sort  of  sanction  from  the  use 
of  metrical  psalmody. 

The  total  suppression  of  the  cathedral  service 
in  1643  gave  a  grievous  wound  to  sacred  music  ; 
not  only  checking  its  cultivation,  but  annihilating, 
as  much  as  possible,  the  means  of  restoring  it, 
by  destroying  all  the  choral  books,  as  entirely  as 
those  of  the  Romish  communion  had  been  at  the 
time  of  the  reformation.  Nothing  now  but  syl- 
labic unisonous  psalmody  was  authorized  in  the 
church.  Organs  were  taken  down,  organists  and 
choir-men  turned  adrift,  and  the  art  of  music, 
and  indeed  all  the  arts,  but  those  of  killing,  cant- 
ing, and  hypocrisy,  were  discouraged. 

This  accounts  for  much  of  the  barbarism  into 
which  music  was  thrown  during  the  reign  of 
James  I.  and  Charles  I. 

The  loyalists  in  Charles'  time  were  attached  to 
the  Hierarchy  and  the  ancient  rites  of  the  church, 
which  included  the  organ,  and  the  solemn  and 
artificial  use  of  voices ;  but  if  they  had  any  one 
custom  or  enjoyment,  which  excited  in  the  Puri- 
tans a  more  acrimonious  hatred,  it  was  that  of 
celebrating  religious  rites  with  good  music.  The 


(     291     ) 

Cavaliers,  in  their  turn,  were  equally  inimical  to 
the  coarse,  vociferous,  and  clamorous  psalmody 
of  the  Puritans ;  so  that  a  reciprocal  and  univer- 
sal intolerance  prevailed  throughout  the  realm, 
for  more  than  half  a  century. 

During  the  grand  rebellion  and  interregnum, 
musicians,  who  had  employment  either  in  the 
chapels-royal,  cathedrals,  or  public  exhibitions 
in  the  capitol,  were  forced  to  skulk  about  the 
country,  and  solicit  an  asylum  in  the  houses  of 
private  patrons,  whose  mansions,  and  abilities  to 
protect  them,  must  have  been  very  precarious. 
Such  was  the  persecution,  under  which  music 
groaned  during  those  disorganizing  times !  In 
consequence  of  the  musicians  being  hunted  from 
place  to  place,  and  their  minds  being  thereby  dis- 
harmonized, all  the  publications  of  the  interreg- 
num, says  Dr.  Burney,  rt  are  wretched  and  va- 
pid, notwithstanding  the  praises  which  some 
poets  have  bestowed  upon  them." 

At  rallying  points,  metre  psalmody  proved  a 
mighty  auxiliary  to  the  fife  and  drum.  The 
heads  of  Hie  opposite  belligerents  frequently  or- 
dered select  metre  psalms  to  be  sung  at  the  bead 
of  their  respective  armies,  as  preparatory  to  bat- 
tle; and  sometimes  the  legions  of  the  contending 
parties  met  each  other  on  the  bloody  field,  sing- 
ing the  same  psalm.  Cromwell  commenced  this 
pious  artifice,  and  with  him  the  109th  was  a  fa- 
vourite fighting  psalm.    From  this  circumstance, 


(     292     ) 

that  psalm  hath  ever  since  been  called  « the  curs- 
ing psalm." 

So  long  as  the  civil  wars  continued,  declama- 
tion, exclamation,  and  vociferation  of  metre 
psalms,  were  the  characteristic  marks  of  the 
reigning  taste ;  and  most  of  the  musical  produc- 
tions of  that  period  were  printed  to  metrical 
words,  from  the  year  1657  to  the  year  1663  inclu- 
sive; probably  to  humour  the  prevailing  opinion. 
Canto  fermo  was  then  totally  discountenanced, 
sr.d  but  little  instrumental  music  printed  during 
this  unmusical  period. 

From  the  death  of  Charles  I.  till  the  restora- 
tion, though  the  gloomy  fanaticism  of  the  times 
had  wholly  prohibited  the  public  use  of  every 
species  of  music,  except  unisonous  and  syllabic 
psalmody,*  yet  music  seems  to  have  been  zeal- 
ously  cultivated  in  private,  during  the  usurpation, 
in  the  hopes  of  better  times,  and  a  revival  of  a 
better  taste  in  the  nation. 

In  1652,  Hilton,  an  ejected  organist,  ventured 


*  This  was  perfectly  in  accordance  with  the  sentiments  of  the 
gloomy,  stern,  and  inflexible  Calvin;  whose  doctrines  were  so  rigid 
and  comfortless,  that  he  seems  to  have  determined  upon  shutting  up 
local  monasteries  for  the  express  purpose  of  making  Carthusians  of 
all  mankind.  The  only  amusement  which  he  ever  allowed  his  fol- 
lowers, was  psalmod}',  aud  that  of  the  most  unmeaning  and  monoto« 
nous  kind;  without  harmony,  quantity,  variety  of  accent,  rhythm, 
i»nd  most  of  the  constituent  parts  of  mere  melody. 

f  Not  a  musical  instrument  was  suffered  within  the  walls  of  Ge- 
neva, for  more  than  a  century  after  the  reformation;  and  all  music, 
except  this  metrical  psalmoxly,was  proscribed,  wherever  the  doctrines 
of  this  reformer  were  received." 

Maimburtfs  History  of  Calvinism. 


(     293     ) 

to  publish  "  A  choice  collection  of  Catches, 
Hounds,  and  Canons,  for  three  and  four  voices, 
for  the  benefit  and  comfort  of  the  royalists,  dur- 
ing the  triumph  of  their  enemies,  and  the  sup- 
pression  of  cathedral  worship,  and  all  public 
amusements." 

At  the  restoration,  though  the  fanatical  spirit 
was  by  no  means  annihilated,  yet  it  was  obliged 
to  give  way  to  the  riotous  and  unbounded  joy  of 
the  adherents  to  royalty,  and  friends  to  ancient 
establishments  in  church  and  state.  This  change 
drew  from  their  retreats  all  the  then  surviving 
organists,  who  had  been  degraded  from  their  liv- 
ings, and  involved,  as  well  as  the  clergy,  in  all 
the  calamities  occasioned  by  the  civil  war.  Of 
the  twenty-six  Bishops,  who  had  been  ejected, 
only  nine  were  then  alive.  Archbishop  Laud  had 
fallen  by  the  hands  of  a  public  executioner,  and 
it  is  uncertain  how  many  others  had  fallen  by 
poison,  or  the  hand  of  private  assassination.  Of 
the  gentlemen  of  Charles  I.'s  Chapel,  only  three 
claimed  their  former  stations. 

When  the  Liturgy  had  been  declared  by  an  or- 
dinance of  the  hoiise  of  Lords,  Jan.  4th,  1664, 
**  A  superstitious  Ritual,"  the  Directory,  pub- 
lished by  the  assembly  of  Divine's  at  Westminster, 
to  which  the  Parliament  referred  all  matters  con- 
cerning religion,  established  a  new  form  of  wor- 
ship, in  which  no  music  was  allowed  but  metre 
psalmody  5  for  which  the  following  rules  were  en- 


(     294     ) 

joined  :— «  It  is  the  duty  of  Christians  to  praise 
God  publiekly  by  singing  of  psalms  together  in  the 
congregation,  and  also  privately  in  the  family. 
In  singing  of  psalms,  the  voice  is  to  be  audibly 
and  gravely  ordered ;  but  the  chief  care  must  be 
to  sing  with  understanding  and  with  grace  in  the 
heart,  making  melody  unto  the  Lord.  That  the 
whole  congregation  may  join  herein,  every  one 
that  can  read  is  to  have  a  psalm  book,  and  all 
others  disabled  by  age  or  otherwise,  are  to  be  ex- 
horted to  learn  to  read.  That  for  the  present, 
where  many  in  the  congregation  cannot  read,  it  is 
convenient  that  the  minister,  or  some  fit  person 
appointed  by  him,  and  the  other  ruling  officers, 
do  read  the  psalm  line  by  line,  before  the  singing 
thereof." 

In  the  opinion  of  those  who  were  then  in  power, 
it  was  thought  necessary  for  the  promotion  of 
true  religion,  "  that  no  organs  should  be  suffered 
to  remain  in  the  churches ;  that  all  choral  books 
should  be  torn  and  destroyed ;  painted-glass  win- 
dows broken  ,•  the  cathedral  service  totally  abo- 
lished ;  and  that  those  retainers  to  the  church, 
whose  function  it  had  been  to  assist  in  such  pro- 
fane vanities,  should  betake  themselves  to  some 
employment  less  offensive  to  the  Lord." 

In  consequence  of  these  tenets,  collegiate  and 
parochial  churches  had  been  stripped  of  their  or- 
gans and  ornaments;  monuments  defaced;  se- 
pulchral inscriptions  engraven  on  brass  torn  up ; 


(     295     ) 

libraries  and  repositories  ransacked  for  musical 
service-books  of  every  kind,  which,  being  all 
doomed  alike  superstitious  and  ungodly,  were 
committed  to  the  flames,  or  otherwise  destroyed ; 
and  the  utmost  efforts  used  at  total  extirpation, 
And  indeed,  their  endeavours  had  been  so  effec- 
tual, that  when  the  heads  of  the  Church  set 
ahout  re-establishing  the  cathedral  service,  it 
was  equally  difficult  to  find  instruments,  perfor- 
mers, books,  and  singers  able  to  do  the  requisite 
duty.  For  organ-builders,  organ-players,  and 
choir-men,  having  been  obliged  to  seek  new 
means  of  subsistence,  the  former  became  com- 
mon carpenters  and  joiners ;  and  the  latter,  who 
did  not  enter  into  the  King's  army,  privately 
taught  the  Lute,  Virginal,  or  such  miserable 
psalmody  as  was  publickly  allowed. 

In  a  slow  and  gradual  manner,  the  several 
choirs  throughout  the  kingdom  were  supplied 
with  masters ;  and  at  first,  for  want  of  boys  ca- 
pable of  performing  their  duty,  the  trible  parts 
were  either  played  upon  cornets,  or  sung  by  men 
in  falset.  And  indeed  the  cathedral  service  had 
been  so  long  laid  aside,  that  scarcely  any  two 
organists  performed  it  alike,  till  the  appearance 
of  Edward  Law's  book  of  instructions  for  the 
performance  of  the  cathedral  service,  printed  at 
Oxford  in  1630.  This  book  was  re-printed  in 
1664,  and  nothing  of  the  kind  had  appeared  since 
the  year  1550,  in  which  Marbeck's  book  was 


(     296     ) 

printed.  It  is  now  upwards  of  180  years  sine* 
the  printing  of  Law's  book,  which  shows  the 
stationary  condition  of  cathedral  music  in  Eng- 
land. 

As  to  organs,  the  difficulty  of  procuring  them, 
upon  short  notice,  seems  to  have  been  greater 
than  that  of  finding  either  performers,  or  musie 
to  perform.  L  was  therefore  found  expedient 
to  invite  foreign  organ-builders  of  known  abili- 
ties, and  to  give  them  premiums  to  settle  in  ths 
country. 

The  reign  of  Charles  II.  was  more  favourable 
to  English  native  music  than  any  other,  except 
that  of  Elizabeth.  Though  Cranio  fermo J  plain 
chant  underwent  little  or  no  alteration,  yet  the 
compositions  in  the  anthem-form  were  numerous, 
and  by  the  first  rate  composers.  And  in  166i 
was  published,  "  A  collection  of  divine  services 
and  anthems  sung  in  his  majesty's  chapel,  and  all 
the  cathedral  and  collegiate  choirs  of  England 
and  Ireland,"  by  James  Clifford.  This  work 
contains  chants  for  the  Venite,  Te  Beum,  Bene- 
dicete,  Jubilate,  Magnificat,  Cantate  Domino,Nunc 
dimittis,  Beus  misereatur,  the  daily  psalms,  and 
Qjiicunque  vult ;  together  with  directions  for  the 
understanding  of  that  part  of  the  divine  service 
performed  with  the  organ,  in  St.  Paul's  cathedral 
en  Sundays,  &c. 

This  musical  uniformity  accords  with  the  act 
passed  in  the  l*th  year  of  Charles  II.  (section.- 


(     297     ) 

"  Concerning  the  Service  of  the  Church,"  5th 
paragraph ;)  in  these  words ;  "  And  whereas 
heretofore  there  hath  been  great  diversity  in  say- 
ing and  singing  in  churches  within  this  realm ; 
some  following  Salisbury  use,  some  Hereford 
use,  and  some  the  use  of  Bangor,  some  of  York, 
some  of  Lincoln;  now  from  henceforth  all  the 
whole  realm  shall  have  but  one  use."* 

Music  had  little  or  no  public  patronage  during 
the  reign  of  James  II.  and  William  and  Mary. 
However,  the  latter  reign  was  much  embellished 
by  the  valuable  productions  of  Purcell.  In  the 
17th  century  music  was  on  the  decline  in  England, 
but  Purcell  revived  and  invigorated  it. 

By  the  fidelity  and  exertions  of  succeeding 
eminent  masters — by  the  uniform  perseverance 
of  the  heads  of  the  English  church,  and  the 
constitutional  authorities  of  the  state,  acting  un- 
der the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  the  venera- 
ble and  universal  usage  of  cathedral  music  hath 
been  preserved,  and  transmitted  down  to  the 
present  time. 

*  See  the  Preface  to  the  English  Prayer  Book 


THE  END. 


